Healing for the Soul More important than the healing of the body is the healing of the soul. Our purpose is not, after all, to make people healthier sinners but to point them to the eternal life found in Jesus. Perhaps that is why the only clear reference to healing in the passage for this week is our memory text in verse 16, which moves away from the hypothetical situations dealt with in verses 13-15. The word for healing in this verse (iaomai) can refer to healing that goes beyond the cure of physical illness (see, for example, Matt. 13:15 biblia/bible/nkjv/Matt.%2013.15 ). Having already in verse 15 hinted at a broader understanding of healing (the resurrection), James makes the connection between illness an d sin, the latter being the root cause of all our problems-not that every illness can be traced back to a particular sin but that sickness and death are the results of us all being sinners. Read Mark 2:1-12 biblia/bible/nkjv/Mark%202.1-12 (compare Heb. 12:12-13 biblia/bible/nkjv/Heb.%2012.12-13; 1 Pet. 2:24-25 biblia/bible/nkjv/1%20Pet.%202.24-25 ). What kind of healing do these passages describe, and what is the basis of this healing? Faith in Jesus brings healing from spiritual weakness and sin. In a sense, every healing Jesus performed was a parable meant to draw peoples attention to their deeper need of salvation. In the case of the paralyzed man in Mark 2, spiritual healing was actually the mans uppermost concern, which is why Jesus immediately assured him that his sins were forgiven. Yet, it was not physical restoration he desired so much as relief from the burden of sin. If he could see Jesus, and receive the assurance of forgiveness and peace with Heaven, he would be content to live or die, according to Gods will.-Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 267. While Gods healers today should employ all available medical means to cure disease, efforts should be made also to heal the whole person, not just for this life but in view of eternity. Healing includes the healing of relationships, which is why we are exhorted, confess your sins to one another (James 5:16, NRSV), meaning those we have wronged (Matt. 18:15 biblia/bible/nkjv/Matt.%2018.15 , 21-22 biblia/bible/nkjv/Matt%2018.21-22 ). That is, if you have wronged or offended others, confess to them. Then the blessing of the Lord will rest upon you because the process of confession involves a dying to self, and only through that death to self can Christ be formed within you.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 14:02:44 +0000
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