To heal means to restore to health and soundness; to
set right, as to heal a rift between friends or nations. The most potent
meaning is to restore a person to spiritual wholeness. The physician with his medicines is dedicated
to healing the body; the psychotherapist is trained to heal the mind. The omnipotent and most loving healer is God:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who
believes in him may not perish but have eternal life. [John 3:16]
As a consequence
of sin, we are afflicted with anxieties and fears, and most grievously, suffer
estrangement from God. Jesus, sinless
himself, offered himself as the sacrifice for the atonement for human sin. His suffering on the cross healed us from the effects of sin,
healed the estrangement from God, allowing us to live righteously. “He himself bore our sins in his own body on
the cross, so that, free from sings, we
might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now
you have returned to the shepherd and guardians of your souls [1 Peter
2:24-25]. What greater forgiveness,
healing, and love could we ever experience!
To maintain this relationship
and new life with God, we have responsibilities. We must see ourselves as we truly are, “warts
and all”. “If we say we have fellowship
with him while we are walking in darkness, we live and do not do what is true;
but if we walk in the light as he himself in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his
Son cleanses us from all sin.” [1 John 5:6-8].
Are we waling in the darkness of sin and self-interest? Are we walking in the light of the presence
of God?
To live
righteously we must obey God and when we stray we must repent and ask for
forgiveness. We must love God and
therefore love one another. To help us
in our spiritual journey we need the support of a community of believers. Healing and forgiveness eliminate the
barriers between God and ourselves, restores our relationship with God, and allows us to walk in the light
of the presence of God.
Shared by Joan Bradley
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