The Good Of The Father (Healing Faith)

 

Who Himself carries up our sins in His body on the pole, that, coming away from sins, we should be living in righteousness; by His welt you were healed 

Peter to the Dispersion (1) 2: 24, Concordant New Testament 

I was struck by a scene from the Chosen series the other day.  In this scene, a woman who had been suffering with a disease which produced her bleeding sought out Jesus to be healed of her condition.  Yet, as she followed Him through a crowd, certain religious leaders recalled that they had deemed her "unclean" to her condition.  Therefore, she was treated as an outcast.  Undaunted, the woman continued to follow Jesus through the crowd until she was able to reach out and touch his clothing.  Immediately the woman realized that she had been healed.  Also, as she touched Jesus, we see Him react to her act of faith, despite not knowing she was even nearby.  Immediately, Jesus stops and asks those in the crowd who had touched Him {Lukes Account 8:45-47}.  See, in that moment in which the woman touched Him, Jesus felt the healing power leaving out of Him.  This made me ponder, is it Jesus who heals, or is it our faith in Him which does so?  There are many passages in scripture where Jesus proclaims that faith has healed {Marks Account 5:34, Lukes Account 18:42, Matthews Account 15:28}.  The author of Hebrews proclaims that without our faith it is impossible to please the Father {To the Hebrews 11:6}.  Many a believer has often been told that our faith is a major issue.  Even those within the mainstream church focus on faith being all important in our lives.  But I ask the question, is it Jesus who heals, or our faith in His ability to do so.  The story of the faith of the Roman Centurian is a cornerstone scripture on the topic of faith {Matthews Account 8:5-13}.  In this passage, this Roman soldier approaches Jesus apparently KNOWING already that Jesus has the ability to heal his servant.  Now, this event has also been embellished in the Chosen series as well.  In fact, the Roman Gaius becomes an important figure in the life of Jesus and His apostles.  We can assume that this Roman had heard many things of the miracles and abilities of Jesus.  Still, it took belief on his part to know for certain that Jesus could heal his servant.  

Now faith is an assumption of what is being expected, a conviction concerning matters which are not being observed 

To the Hebrews 11: 1, Concordant New Testament

I've often been asked what living with the faith of the Roman Centurian would be like.  To that I ask, do you know Jesus?  Do you believe in your heart that He lives in you?  If you answered yes then you already live with faith in Him.  For the author of Hebrews proclaims that our faith is "An assumption of what is being expected" {To the Hebrews 11:1}.  We trust Jesus to do what He claims that He can do.  This includes His healing.  The one time in which I threw this into question was when my mother passed.  I had been praying for God to heal her for more than a few years.  I knew that He had that ability to heal her.  Yet that wasn't in His plan for her.  Later, I learned perhaps one of the most important lessons of the Lords healing that I will ever know.  That God had indeed healed my mother, just not in the way that I had expected Him to.  I had prayed that He would relieve her pain, and that He did.  When I finally got over myself, I realized that my prayers for her had been answered.  There are many instances in which believers have been in prayer over people or situations in which these prayers have been answered.  Is it Jesus who has been working in the lives of the Fathers children, or is it simply our faith in Him to do so?  Whatever our thoughts on this question, it has always been the desire of the Father that we put our faith and trust in Him {First Epistle of John 5:4}.  

~Scott~