It’s not me, it’s You

I've often heard it said that “it’s not about you, it’s about Him” or “this life we live is not about us, but about God”. But when I’m reading my Bible trying to focus on God, He goes and throws the subject back my way and starts talking about me!  

Why is there hope laid up for me in heaven?   Colossians 1:5

Why does God take delight in me?  Psalms 149:4 
Why does God supply my needs according to His riches in glory?  Philippians 4:19 
Why does God remember my work and the love which I have shown?  Hebrews 9:10 
Why did God choose me in Him before the foundation of the world?  Ephesians 1:4 
Why did Jesus take my sins and heal me?  1 Peter 2:24

Certainly, I understand that we are not to be self-focused but instead Christ focused. I realize our lives have been crucified with Christ, but to claim that this life is not about us would be missing an important part of the Gospel story.

In this world, it is easy to feel insignificant; there just are so many people. Moreover, it is hard to comprehend how God can relate and interact with everyone. I've often wondered how God’s kingdom works with all the angels and people talking at the same time. But if God’s kingdom is not about us, then our lives are significant only as much as they fit in with God’s master salvation plan. We read the passages of scripture that explain how we are all parts of the body working together and so shouldn't complain about our role. But what are we working towards?  Does the greater good outweigh the individual good? Is God even constrained by the amount of ‘good’ available? What is God’s purpose? Somehow I don’t think it is just about numbers...

It is true we are a part of God’s saving work, but our value is not based on our role or what we can do for God. God established our value apart from any act of obedience or kingdom service by redeeming us while we were sinners. To emphasize: our value before anything, even while we were dirty, stinking, rotten and plagued with sin, before we were redeemed, renewed, or made a new creation, was worth the price of His Son Jesus Christ. Knowing this wonderful truth doesn't puff us up, but it does serve to glorify God and leave us in awe. God is glorified in His creative and redemptive work. 

For many of us, it is hard to see the value that God places on us and instead we ask “Why would God save me?” and so we try desperately to perform to somehow make ourselves worthy. But I find, as we begin to grasp God’s unconditional love and grace, it takes the pressure off and we can freely be the person God made us to be. The message of the cross is that God did for us what we could not do for ourselves. Even further demonstrating His love, God adopted us as children and made us heirs with Christ.

It is clear the gospel is about God, us, and the relationship between Father and child integrally expressed in Jesus Christ. So yes, we should focus on Him, but all the while knowing He is looking right back at us.

Good Theology

Our tendency as humans is that we like everything to have an explanation, a reason and an understanding. When we don’t understand something, we study it further, we learn, we experiment. However, theology is a little different and doesn’t necessarily explain everything. Instead theology provides insight into the nature of God and the workings of His kingdom. Good theology leaves room for the topics which we do not fully comprehend.

One topic in which there are various theologies is the topic of healing. The subject of healing has had a lot of different implications. There are a lot of hard questions associated with healing. When looking at healing it is easy to speak in general broad statements. “God heals on His own time.” Also it is easy to speak of specific examples “Why did it take Suzy 5 years to get healed?  Why not after her first prayer?”   It is even easier to speak from our own experience. “I prayed and it didn’t work. :(”  With the wealth of examples it is common to develop a theology based on experience. However, is this necessarily good theology?  

The trouble with broad statements is they often make God out to be some distant cosmic force, when in reality He is very close, intimate and real. (Immanuel!) The challenge with specifics is that we do not know all the factors behind a situation to form an accurate conclusion. However, what we can agree on and look at are the healings of Christ, for we know He was perfect in His ways.  Christ’s example should be our basis for any theology. 

For starters, we find:  

1) Jesus healed all those brought to Him.  (Matt 4:23)
2) Jesus healed people who didn’t directly ask for healing. (Luke 7:11) 
3) Jesus healed people based on someone else’s request. (Luke 7:7) 
4) Jesus never discussed or stated anything about God’s timing in healing. (Matt 17:20)
5) Jesus wept over the impact of sickness on God’s children. (John 11:35)
6) No healing was too great or difficult for Jesus. (John 11:43)
7) Jesus promised greater works we would do once He goes to the Father. (John 14:12)
8) Jesus is the same always.  (Heb 13:8)

But, a fair question many will raise is: What about the New Testament church examples where people didn't get healed? There are 3 passages commonly referenced:

1) Timothy’s Stomach Troubles (1 Tim 5:23).  With this example, I wonder if Paul’s wine remedy worked? Was God using a remedy?  How long did Timothy have the problem afterward?  
2) Paul’s Thorn (2 Cor 12:7). We see an example of Paul’s thorn and ask ourselves: “If Paul couldn’t get healed and he was a mega-star of faith, what hope do I have?” But why do we quickly draw the comparison between Paul’s situation and our own? Paul had a unique role in the kingdom of God. Also, we can’t establish if Paul’s thorn was even sickness related.
3) Trophimus was left behind sick (2 Tim 4:20). Did Trophimus stay sick? There are many details surrounding Trophimus that we do not know.

Sometimes in forming theology we can get bogged down in discussions and defences. My intent in sharing this post is to encourage those who are seeking healing to look at the example of Christ. We should not establish or limit what God can do based on others' experiences. Instead, see who Jesus really is and look at His love, His compassion and His ministry to receive from Him.