“He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness, by His wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)
One of my favorite things about preaching is that the Word works on me as I work on the Word. Sometimes that is very uplifting and at other times humbling and difficult. Since I do not preach every week I miss that process. So, blogging here will serve yet another purpose.
I do not believe that I have ever preached on this text…that is the beauty of wandering beyond a lectionary approach.
The text from Peter is brief but loaded with meaning. Notice that it says, “you have been healed”. This is past tense. It has been accomplished. In Christ you have been healed.
Many of us have stumbled along waiting for healing to arrive. Some of us in the darkness of depression. Some of us in the prison of bitterness and unforgiveness. Or, others of us in the other imposed world of abuse. Those of us chained by silence, helplessness, fear and shame. Jesus does not want us to remain in any of these places.
So, that is good to know…now what do we do? Am I not stuck with these situations? Isn’t this “my cross to bear”? Maybe…to some degree. We are in some way marked by these experiences. We have scars- physically and emotionally. But, have you claimed Jesus’ gift of healing? Healing and growing and becoming healthier and holier is not an easy process!
For me the healing process began (and I am certain will continue) when I reached the end of my ability to cope. All my defense mechanisms; sense of humor, intelligence, planning failed me. Depression hit so hard I could not stand.
In order to heal I needed to hit bottom. There was nothing in me to fix it. What I found when I hit that low point was that God in Christ was there to lift me up. I also learned techniques for self-care and became less independent. My dependence came to rest on Jesus. Only He can truly heal us.
And, more than that He can transform our scars into signs of hope for others. Our stories of healing can serve as encouragement to those in darkness. Hitting bottom may become less likely if they have others to help them. As a hospital chaplain I have seen this over and over. I want to replace the saying that “misery loves company.” “Healing loves company” is more realistic from God’s perspective. Offering clear evidence of what Jesus has done grants people an invitation to accept healing.
Please note that Jesus healed people physically. Yet, at other times He addressed their need for forgiveness or other internal needs. We will not always receive physical healing. This may well be a cross to bear our the reality of our frailty. Our bodies wear out. I myself realized that the warranty began to wear out at @42 years old. We are mortal but we are called to immortality as we live our lives in Christ.
And, our brief text indicates that we are to “live for righteousness.” That indicates repentance and a change of direction. We are to move away from sin. Yet, this passage is quite clear about something. We are dependent on God to get there. The power to become more holy rests in Him. There is no amount of will power that will get us there. We must surrender our will and our sins (and the the sins of others we endured) to God. Then, healing and transformation will take place. It is true.
The hardest thing for any of us to believe is that it can happen for me. “But, isn’t God busy with a lot of things”…We say to ourselves, “this is really too much to ask when other people are worse off.” Or, “there are too many things standing in the way.” And, on it goes! I found the largest “thing” standing in the way was me!! God can handle all of us at once. That is a difficult concept to grasp. As a parent it is impossible to cover all the bases. God is not limited in this way. He is there for all of His children…all at once. He does indeed have time for you and I.
My advice is- get out of your own way for a moment. Give God a chance to do what you believe is impossible. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the outcome.
PS- if anyone is willing to share stories that offer “before and after” illustrations of God’s healing power–> Please share in the “comments” section of this blog.
partofHISstory 