I have no doubt that miraculous healings from God occur today, and I have witnessed the kind of joy such healings bring. We should intently petition God to heal the sick around us, be they sick in the body, mind or spirit.
As I talk with Christians about the concept of healing, however, I do sometimes wish we could better understand the meaning of healing. For as wonderful as it is to see someone miraculously healed, it is even more wonderful to recognize why healing happens.
Jesus healed a lot of people in the Bible, and those healing stories always point us to a deeper meaning. One of the easiest places to see what I’m talking about is in the ninth chapter of John, where Jesus restores the sight of a man born blind.
It is an astounding healing. For all practical purposes, Jesus creates vision where there has been none. He mixes spit with dirt, kneading it into mud and smearing it on the man’s eyes, telling him to go wash in a pool.
When the blind man washes, he can see. People who witness him freely walking about later with his eyes open are so perplexed that they are not sure it is really the blind beggar they have always known.
In fact, most of the ninth chapter is dedicated not to the story of the healing, but the controversy that ensues. The Pharisees, great lovers of the law, ask, Who did this? And how dare he do it on a sabbath?
As the story progresses and Jesus speaks with the man he has healed, the symbolism of this healing and other healings becomes clear. The world is trapped in spiritual blindness, unable to see God for who God is. But Jesus, fully and completely God, has come to open the world’s eyes to truths hidden by sin.
As we know, Jesus goes on to do a larger work of re-creation. Ultimately, Christ sheds his blood, mixing it with the ground during the crucifixion. Because of his sacrifice, we all have the potential to see the truth that God loves us and will do whatever is necessary to bring us into a relationship with our creator. We simply need to believe to be healed spiritually.
And from time to time, some of us are healed physically or mentally, as a sign of God’s presence among us. When miraculous healings occur, we are reminded that God is in control, despite the brokenness that remains until Christ returns to seal his victory over sin and death.
In many ways, those who have been healed or have witnessed healings have a special responsibility.
We are called to testify that God’s power is present in the world. And like the healed blind man, we should boldly answer those who want to argue that God is not present.
Lord, thank you for what healings signify. As wonderful as they are for those who are healed, they are even more powerful as a sign of what is to come. Amen.
Methodist Life 