The Bible makes an important distinction between being cured/healed and being made whole. Jesus could cure people because of his intense love, but if they wanted to be well or whole, they had to enter into a faith relationship with him.
Our favorite example of this is best seen in the story of the cleansing of the 10 lepers (Lk 17:11-19). The story says that by the power of Jesus’ word, all 10 of the lepers were cleansed of their skin disease. Jesus’ intense love, even at a distance, could re-create a person just as that love once created them.
As in many cases in the Gospel, this cure was an invitation to be made whole. One man came back and entered into a faith relationship with Jesus. His bowing down to worship him was an indication of his decision. Jesus says to him, "Your faith has made you well." Ten were cured, but only one was "made well" or made whole. He used the cure as an invitation to be made whole.
There are different words in the Greek text of the gospel for being "cured" and being "made whole." In verse 15 of this story, the Greek word iathe is used to describe that the 10 lepers were cured; that is, their skin was cleansed. In Mk 1:34 and other places in the gospels, the Greek word etheropoisen is used to describe people being physically cured, but in verse 19 of this story, the word sesoken is used which means to be "made well." It can include the meaning of being physically cured, but it describes being made well on a larger perspective. The Gospels tell us that the intense love of Jesus cures people, even if they do not know him, but if the cured person enters a faith relationship with Jesus, they are "made well" or "saved." They will be well forever. The healing ministry of Jesus demonstrated the power of his love and his deep desire to invite people to wholeness, an eternal love relationship with him.
Jesus never said our faith "cured" us. Jesus cured out of love for people, and if the person returned that love by entering into a commitment to him, he would say, "Your faith has made you well." In the Gospel, a person was described as being well only if they had chosen to connect themselves to God through a commitment. One of the unique things about Jesus’ healing ministry is that it always had an eternal goal; the salvation or wholeness of the person. His healing ministry was the most powerful tool for drawing people into that saving, eternal relationship. We are called to be doing the same. Everything Jesus does is to bring glory to Him.
As people are turning more and more to natural ways of taking care of themselves, the words healing and wholeness tend to be used quite often and interchangeably. In reality, they mean two different things!
When people perceive themselves to be sick, or actually suffering from one or more discomforts, the first reaction is to take something or do something to put an end to the suffering. It may be tylenol, alcohol, or something stronger, or a therapy of some kind. If we are successful at it, and the suffering ends, and we are tempted to say that we are all better.
Wholeness has little to do with the removal or ending of symptoms. God desires to make us whole. We can receive healing, and our symptoms will disappear, and we think we are okay. Healing is basically the result of putting right our wrong relationships with our bodies. Instead of desiring freedom from our problems we need to get to the root of the problem and desire wholeness. Wholeness may often be an uncomfortable process, but always empowering. Christ can make us whole through His love, but this might involve digging deeper to see what else is left to be dealt with.
As we are made whole, it may appear that we are coming apart at the seams. We begin to see aspects of ourselves that we were unaware of or unable to acknowledge. But as we begin the process of discovery, acknowlegement and alignment, we give God all of those areas. He is given permission to change us; He is not going to make us whole without our permission. We must ask.
If we only desire healing our old thought patterns, old emotions, and rigid ways of being are still going to be around, and they will cause symptoms to arise. In healing, no new magic is put into us, and nothing is taken out.
Wholeness implies that God wants to eliminate our diseases, symptoms, or crises. We want God to remove the whole disease, not just the symptoms. We don't want flare ups; we want to be made whole. Typically, people want help when the indicators of illness can no longer be ignored. Within marriage...and diseased relationshipas, spiritual or physical signs and symptoms will be too difficult to ignore and the recommendation of counseling will be offered. If that fails, divorce will follow. However, if, after a cetain course of treatment, the signs and symptoms no longer exist, we declare the person healed.
Curing has an important role. It offers us the gift of time so we may better understand the deeper significance of our diseases. Curing can also offer us a greater degree of hope and comfort to facilitate the process of healing. This can be beneficial. We get this. However, even in the medical world today, the process stops with the cure. Wholeness is rarely, if ever, encountered. We assume because we have done all of the right things that we are fine. God desires to make us whole. We want to be made whole.
Wholeness leaves no room for man to say they had anything to do with the process. Many marriages are healed, and the people feel empowered. Wholeness involves surrenduring control of our inner and outer experiences. Healing involves an attempt to control these experiences. Wholeness causes unprovoked forgiveness. Healing seeks to label the effects (not the causes) of disease, place blame, promote victimization, and give explanations and excuses for undesirable experiences.
We should be asking for God to make us whole. No matter what we may be going through, wholeness will bring us to greater heights. Be warned it might just hurt, too! Wholeness brings us peace, and allows us to live in peace. God is continuing to reveal to us that the process of healing MUST move into wholeness or the symptoms will creep back into our lives. Our desire is to see all of us made whole, not just to remove ourselves from the situation like someone with a breathing problem moves to a different location because it's better for their health. Not like someone allergic to animals or foods just eliminate the reaction--let's ask God to remove the allergy!! We want completeness in Him, and no further symptoms.
Josh and Serena
No comments:
Post a Comment