Forgiveness
of Sin Brings Healing
Bless
the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all thine
iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases. Ps. 103:2, 3
The Saviour ministered to both the soul
and the body. The gospel which He taught was a message of spiritual life and of
physical restoration. Deliverance from sin and healing of disease were linked
together. The same ministry is committed to the Christian physician. He is to
unite with Christ in relieving both the physical and spiritual needs of his
fellow men. He is to be to the sick a messenger of mercy, bringing to them a
remedy for the diseased body and for the sin-sick soul.
When the poor paralytic was brought to
the house where Jesus was teaching, a dense crowd surrounded the door, barring
every way of access to the Saviour. But faith and hope had been kindled in the
heart of the poor sufferer, and he proposed that his friends take him to the
rear of the house, break up the roof, and let him down into the presence of
Christ. The suggestion was acted upon; as the afflicted one lay at the feet of
the mighty Healer, all that man could do for his restoration had been done.
Jesus knew that the sufferer had been tortured with a sense of his sins, and
that he must first find relief from this burden. With a look of tenderest
compassion, the Saviour addressed him, not as a stranger, or even a friend, but
as one who had even then been received into the family of God: "Son, be of
good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee."
Many are suffering from maladies of the
soul far more than from diseases of the body, and they will find no relief
until they shall come to Christ, the wellspring of life. Complaints of
weariness, loneliness, and dissatisfaction will then cease. Satisfying joys
will give vigor to the mind and health and vital energy to the body.
Today Christ is feeling the woes of every
sufferer. . . . He knows how to speak the word, "Be whole," and bid
the sufferer, "Go, and sin no more."
From My Life Today - Page 154
