Jesus said it’s easier to forgive than heal

Matthew 9:5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?

This question has raised controversy in some circles, given that the healing of disease has been in short supply in recent years. True enough those who have an ear for this sort of discussion hear talk of healing coming out of certain Christian circles. However, independent, corroborating evidence is in even shorter supply and we should always be careful what we take on faith from the mouth of people.

So what has happened to healing then? With so much sickness in the world, why isn’t there more healing coming from the faithful? The answer perhaps lies in how closely tied the two examples are in Matthew 9; Jesus forgiving the man, then healing his sins.

Healing is about God, and God is about love. Forgiveness is the path to healing and reconciling the soul. An extension of this is mercy in the face of unapologetic behaviour, with the understanding that unrepentant behaviour is sometimes a symptom of the need for a deeper healing to be treated with love. Healing of the soul through forgiveness can be seen in Matthew 9 as the precursor to healing of the body. That is to say one struggles to love enough, therefore have faith enough, to ask for healing of the body without understanding forgiveness fully  and forgiving first.

The current state of healing, or lack thereof, is an indictment on Christians as a whole, including myself. I think it’s a fair argument that if we believe healing is possible but can’t successfully pray for more healing among our own, or more importantly, those outside of our inner circles, that the fault lies with us. I write this as much as a reminder for myself for as long as this stands that I have so far left to go in understanding love and how to ask and get out of God’s way as God’s love heals others, both in spirit and body. This is not to say healing doesn’t exist, and that none who read this have witnessed it, but I say that we cannot be satisfied that what we’ve seen is enough if we still know those who suffer.

It is only our faith, which stems from our love, that stands in the way of God’s love being expressed. God stands apart, waiting for us to reach out. We could probably all do to reach a little harder.