HOW FAITH MAKES US WELL
He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease." MArk 5:34, R.S.V.
Jesus could have spoken to that startled, just-healed woman from the crowd in several different ways. For example, He could have said, "Woman, My miraculous power has just made you well." But He didn't, because that wouldn't have told the whole truth.
Instead, He was referring to the relationship between Himself and the woman in which she looked to Him in trusting confidence. This was what produced the healing.
The brief encounter with an unnamed woman on the road to Jairus' house was an acted parable of the plan of salvation. The healing of our sin-damaged lives happens as we enter into and enjoy a loving relationship with a great Friend. And that, at the very core, is the meaning of faith.
In all our conversations about "righteousness by faith," we must be careful not to become so absorbed with righteousness that we forget about faith. In the purest sense, we cannot talk about faith without speaking of the Object of our faith. "Faith" does not exist in the abstract; there is only "faith in Christ."
And it is that confident, informed, involved relationship that is, itself, the healing power. O that we could grasp all that Jesus meant when He said, "Your faith has made you well." Was this recorded in Scripture only for women who are hemorrhaging or for those with other physical ailments? What is faith capable of healing? What transformations can vital love effect in one's life?
Consider: would there be any further need to stand on someone else's face in order to stand taller if we already knew we were proudly claimed children of the King? Would we strike back in retaliation against those who threaten us if we knew that God Himself is on our side? Such a grasp of the divine-human bond will bring genuine righteousness into one's life.
And that, at the practical level, is righteousness by faith!
He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease." MArk 5:34, R.S.V.
Jesus could have spoken to that startled, just-healed woman from the crowd in several different ways. For example, He could have said, "Woman, My miraculous power has just made you well." But He didn't, because that wouldn't have told the whole truth.
Instead, He was referring to the relationship between Himself and the woman in which she looked to Him in trusting confidence. This was what produced the healing.
The brief encounter with an unnamed woman on the road to Jairus' house was an acted parable of the plan of salvation. The healing of our sin-damaged lives happens as we enter into and enjoy a loving relationship with a great Friend. And that, at the very core, is the meaning of faith.
In all our conversations about "righteousness by faith," we must be careful not to become so absorbed with righteousness that we forget about faith. In the purest sense, we cannot talk about faith without speaking of the Object of our faith. "Faith" does not exist in the abstract; there is only "faith in Christ."
And it is that confident, informed, involved relationship that is, itself, the healing power. O that we could grasp all that Jesus meant when He said, "Your faith has made you well." Was this recorded in Scripture only for women who are hemorrhaging or for those with other physical ailments? What is faith capable of healing? What transformations can vital love effect in one's life?
Consider: would there be any further need to stand on someone else's face in order to stand taller if we already knew we were proudly claimed children of the King? Would we strike back in retaliation against those who threaten us if we knew that God Himself is on our side? Such a grasp of the divine-human bond will bring genuine righteousness into one's life.
And that, at the practical level, is righteousness by faith!
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