The topic at the School of the Bible was healing. We are going through the Old Testament names of God and our text was found in Exodus 15 where there is the revelation of "Yahweh Rapha"- the Lord, our Healer. God made a great promise to His people saying, 26 “If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.” There is an interesting interplay of actors in that passage -- God is the Healer, but His people have a responsibility to live in a way that 'accepts' His healing.
I belong to a group called Christian Medi-Share which provides an alternative to standard health insurance. Some 30,000 Christian families join together to share medical bills. We pledge to observe a healthy lifestyle as Christians. To qualify for membership a person cannot use tobacco products, must avoid alcohol abuse, and must sexually active only within marriage. In addition, we are encouraged by those who direct the group to healthier diets and regular exercise programs to avoid becoming seriously overweight. The result is that instead of paying $600-800/month for health care, we pay $280! Living a holy life helps promote a healthy body.
It is not hard to make a strong case from the Bible that God does use suffering and/or sickness in judgment of sin. Have you listened to the text that is so often read at the celebration of the Lord's Supper? "For if you eat the bread or drink the cup unworthily, not honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died." (1 Cor. 11:29-30, NLT) We could dissect that passage at length, but even a superficial reading clearly reminds us that when we take the Bread and Cup as God's people, we accept a responsibility to live God-honoring lives. If we don't, we invite God to discipline us with sickness and even to take our lives!
So, is sickness always the sign of God's displeasure or a lack of self-discipline? We must not be too quick to point fingers at those who are suffering. It is too easy to reach a snap conclusion based on the 'facts,' in the process getting it all wrong. Jesus' disciples did that. One day they saw something fairly common in their time- a blind man. They asked Jesus, (John 9:2) “Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?” Their smug assumption of moral failure is one that is all too commonly shared even today. Christians who have chronic illnesses not only have to deal with the suffering of their disease, but they must cope with other Believers who too readily join with Job's comforters to point and accuse. Jesus' reply is astonishing, even yet today! 9:3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins, he was born blind so the power of God could be seen in him.” Sometimes suffering serves to bring about the glory of God! Yes, that's right. God uses sickness and suffering to shape and mold us in the likeness of Christ. He uses these things to call the whole and healthy to compassion and self-forgetful service. And He even uses these things for a display of His healing power.
I am convinced that salvation from sin (Jesus' primary work on our behalf) includes healing for the whole person: body, soul, and spirit. However, we cannot make healing into the sideshow that all too many healing ministries become! Healing must not be divorced from the proclamation of the Gospel. In the same way that we are being saved from sin's curse and will not realize the fullness (perfection) that is promised to all Believers until the coming of the Lord, so we will not experience the fullness of healing until His Kingdom comes.
Even if today's sickness is healed by His power, we remain mortal and will eventually die. This should cause us to preach that Jesus saves and heals with the humility that recognizes He has not put us in charge, that He remains the Savior and Healer. As with all good gifts that accompany our 'graced' status as sons and daughter of the King, we receive healing with gratitude, humility, and the wonder that God would care for us with such tenderness.
And this is my hope, is it yours? Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. -- Revelation 22:1-5 NIV
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