Healing Through Faith and Love

Mark 8:22-26

Did Jesus really need to put saliva on the eyes of the man in order to heal him from blindness? Some healing Jesus did was through touch. Other times Jesus never even saw the person he healed and still other restorations occurred after Jesus’ cloak was touched by an ailing individual.

The common thread throughout all the healing of Jesus is obviously Jesus himself, but two other components were always present as well; Agape Love and Faith. 

Agape, meaning the highest form of love. The type of Love our God offers us-unconditional. 

Faith in every instance was sincerely present within someone involved.

In order for healing to take place, faith that it can happen need not be within the receiver, but must dwell in someone who is praying for and believing in the healing power of God. That was true then, and still is today. 

Perhaps the physical cures in the Bible occurred to guide people into relationship with God, but it was about total healing of the mind and soul, not just the body. 

Please consider that the same power to facilitate God’s healing lives in us. The gift of the Holy Spirit is here for all, to be used as a vehicle to heal. We need each other. We can do God’s work for one another right here. Right now!

The Same Power  by Jeremy Camp

Read/Listen to Mark 8: 22-26

Connect - Your Mission this week

Matthew 9:10-13

Think about people you have felt a connection with. Why them? Was it something they said? The way they talked? How they listened? Their eyes?

It is a comfortable feeling when we sense connection and acceptance. When we know we can count on someone no matter what our circumstances, we feel a calm assurance.

Jesus loved and accepted all people. His mission was to seek sinners and the undesirable so that he could sincerely get to know them, demonstrate his love and acceptance and lead them to righteousness.

“I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:12

Jesus also stated, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” when he heard the disciples being questioned about why Jesus was sitting with tax collectors and sinners.

All of the physical healing Jesus did, was due to the faith of someone. Sometimes it was the person in need, other times it was because of the belief of others who cared for them. Regardless, the vehicle through which Jesus worked was deep faith. Physical healing also resulted in spiritual health and eternal promise. When Jesus said "You are healed." He didn't mean just the external ailment.

In Mark:5, Matthew:9, and Luke:8, Jairus, a synagogue ruler was told his sick daughter had died as he was pleading with Jesus to save her. Though men were telling him not to bother Jesus any more, Jesus ignored them and told Jairus “Don’t be afraid, just believe.”

 

If we look at those without faith as “not well” and approach them as a friend with a heart for their circumstance, we will likely get through to them in time and allow God to heal them from the inside out.

Lord, may we be the pathway you use to reach those in this world you guide us to minister to. Help us open our hearts and meet them where they are. Please give us the strength, courage, and deep faith to touch the lives of others in a way that delivers them to you, forever. Amen