Get Better

When my wife needed some medical attention beyond the usual stuff I took her to the emergency room. It’s almost like they were waiting for us! They diagnosed her symptoms and they started immediate treatment including ultrasounds and IV fluids. They took her information and never even asked how she would pay for it. They were focused on one goal, to get her better. One thing I didn’t see in this ER was a lot of people standing around doing nothing. Every person in that ER from the janitor to the doctor was there to participate in getting her better.

Our local ER sees every conceivable kind of person and medical case. There are people who are one heartbeat away from death, there are people who are overtaken with sickness and there are those who come in badly injured. No matter how bad or complicated the case is the staff at the ER is there to begin the healing process. This is exactly what the church should be doing as well!

The local church, your church, should be a place where people can get better from whatever it is that is disfiguring their life. The church is like the ER; no matter what people wander in with, no matter how gross it is, no matter how complicated it is and no matter how messy it is the church is here to apply the amazing healing grace of God. God can heal anyone, of anything, at any time, anywhere, at any age of life, at any moment no matter how complicated it is. People need to hear this good news. The divorced need to know this, the exotic dancer needs to know this, the molested and abused need to know this, the broken and bruised need to know this, the weak and the wayward need to know this, the persecuted and the perverted need to know this, the excluded and the abandoned need to know this, everyone needs to know this!

Listen to this story: A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said. Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!”  Instantly the leprosy disappeared (Mark 1:40 –42). Jesus said, “I am willing.” He is still willing. Why not make a trip to your local church ER and start the treatment?

Now I know some of you are saying, "I went to church and got worse!" Find another one just like you would find another doctor or another hospital. Don't give up. Find another one!