Seven Miracles - Pt 14

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. (Romans 8:22-24 ESV).

The implications of this miracle go even further than we have seen so far. All of us are moved with the sheer numbers of diseases and disabilities that we deal with today. Jesus walked into a huge “multitude of invalids” and he heals one man, just one. Then he disappears before that man can even know who he was. He leaves hundreds of invalids behind unhealed. Then he finds the man in a less conspicuous place and puts all the focus on holiness. Here’s the point. In the first coming of the Son of God into the world, we receive foretastes of his healing power. The full healing of all his people and all their diseases and disabilities awaits the second coming of Christ. And the aim of these foretastes, which we receive now, is to call us to faith and holiness. Most people who suffer from disabilities in this life will have them to the day they die. And all of us, until Jesus comes again, will die of something. Here and there, some are healed. We believe in miracles. But even though Jesus had all the power to heal, he did not usher in the final day of perfect wholeness. His ministry points to that day. But while this age of groaning lasts, healing is the exception, not the rule. And that is not because we are weak in faith. But Jesus left hundreds unhealed at the pool of Bethesda. And he told the one man he did heal, who had not even believed on him, to wake up. I am pursuing your holiness. The main issue in this age till Jesus comes back is that we meet him in our brokenness, and receive the power of his forgiveness to pursue holiness. In this calling to faith and holiness, the disabled often run faster and farther than many of us who have our legs and arms. And in the mentally disabled, we simply don’t know how far they are running. Perhaps farther than we think. Jesus knows. Jesus knows everything. And he is compassionate. And he is sovereign. To know that is to know peace. For now, I pray that the Lord may open your eyes to know Jesus personally, as one who knows you, and has compassion on you, and is sovereign over your body and your soul, and the one who has come with saving and healing power first for the sake of your holiness, and then finally for the sake of your everlasting health.