Well Friends, I’m going to let the “cat out of the bag” today. The reason I’ve been “harping” on Repentance of late is because of my health! I found out that one of the great benefits for the Repentant sinner is spiritual healing! Several months ago, I became quite excited when I learned that I need not spend the rest of my life with this peculiar health problem I’ve been having! I tell you...that was good news to me! Well, you know how “good news” is...you just have to share it with someone else, and guess who that someone is!
| God Is Passionately Interested In Your Spiritual Well-being |
It would probably shock you, as it did me, if you realized how much the Bible has to say about spiritual healing. No...I’m not talking about the “fake healing” some tele-vangelists have engaged in for personal profit. I’m talking about the real thing! It is a tremendous encouragement to know that God’s concern for us involves much more than communicating life to us.
God has a passionate interest in our spiritual-health and well-being. He has given us many passages of scripture that provide instruction on this topic. Some of this instruction is in the form of case histories; other is like a flag or beacon that warns of potential dangers; other is remedial... pointing to a specific cure. All of these diverse methods of instruction are for our improvement and are given because he cares for us!
Why then are we hurting so? Why is our spiritual health and well-being at such a low ebb? Let us look and learn from an illustration found in Jeremiah 8:22.
Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
This verse (Jer.8:22), in metaphorical language, addresses the spiritual and moral crisis that existed in Jeremiah’s day. We ought not dismiss this lesson as “lacking relevance” for us. Today, we miss out on spiritual healing in much the same way and for the same reasons as they did in Jeremiah’s day. In this verse, the prophet poses two questions. The answer to the first is a resounding “Yes!”. Healing ointment and medicine was available; the physician--the one qualified to accurately diagnose and effectively treat the ailment was also available. The second question goes much deeper than the first; it probes and seeks to get at the root of the problem--it asks “Why?”. “Why then are my people not healed?” Contemplation of this question leads us to conclude that some underlying fault must be at work here. Else-- why would a person disregard the means of healing?
There could be various external factors which act to hinder people from seeking healing. However, I will pass those by for now. I want to look at something internal...something I believe is basic and fundamental to this issue...character.
| Character is a distinguishing feature of rational beings. We don’t speak of animals as having character, do we? Character is molded, shaped, and developed by moral training. That is why it is so important to begin moral training when a child is young. Moral training is not accomplished passively; it is positive instruction to the child in the areas of conduct and behavior. Without this training the adolescent enters adulthood seriously handicapped.
When we speak of a man’s character, we are referring to his moral structure. As a building is framed and takes on a specific shape, so character is framed and shaped by moral law. A man of integrity and character is a person whose decisions and actions are made within the framework of moral law. Humanistic and Hedonistic principles which nurture egoism and self-gratification are not the quality materials that build character and productive lives.
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Character is not developed in a vacuum; it requires diligent and positive moral instruction. Without moral training a child, or an adult, will have hurtful defects in his\her character. He will lack the wisdom and knowledge needed to make crucial decisions.
What sort of defect in a person’s character would influence him to act in a way which is contrary to his own well-being? An obvious one is Pride. As one analogy states it, “Pride is to “character” what air is to a balloon.” The pride of fallen humanity will inflate us and provide the stimulus to reject established authority and wisdom...even when it is in our vested interest not to.
A case in point is recorded in 2 Chronicles 10. There we read of the young man Rehoboam, Solomon’s son. A situation had developed which required a crucial decision. He rejects the counsel of the older men-- the previous generation, and turns to his peers for guidance and direction. In this case, the good counsel of the older generation would have been the “balm in Gilead” which would have healed the nation in that moment of crisis. Rehoboam’s poor choice amounted to more than “just a mistake”. It points to a character defect...pride (egoism) and a lack of wisdom.
Because of human pride and the subsequent rejection of established wisdom, many of the basic questions and problems of life become reoccurring themes from generation to generation. Not only so, but in one’s own life, pride and egoism will assure that we persist in the same errors, mistakes, and failures.
“Why is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?” The answer to this question is, at least in part, a character issue. We have filled our bellies at the trough of materialism (objects & things); we have drank deeply of hedonism (pleasures and self-seeking). Having placed a premium value on the objects of time and sense, we madly persist in our addiction.
Yes my Friends, “there is balm in Gilead”, but before we will seek it we must have an accurate view of our sin, godly sorrow because of it, and a determination to change. This is Repentance...it has a price... but it is well worth it.
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