Just What the Doctor Ordered

Jesus was handed over to die for our sins, and he was raised from death to make us right with God.

– Romans 4:25

The Garden of Eden must have been quite a place.

And indeed it was. We read in Genesis that it was a paradise filled with beautiful fruit trees, gardens, rivers and animals. God created Adam to care for it, and later introduced Eve to complete the equation. There was no crime, violence, unemployment or any of the other realities of our modern existence. And the first man and woman communed with God in a world without pain or sickness. Or even death.

Then … everything changed. Adam and Eve’s disobedience through eating from the garden’s forbidden tree led to their permanent eviction from Eden. And ever since, human existence has involved toil, conflict, illness and mortality. It’s a price we’re still paying to this day.

Just how far has Adam and Eve’s sin taken us from that place of perfect health? According to current data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), our nation’s

annual health care spending has reached $3.6 trillion. That’s $11,172 per person, which is almost 18% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

It’s obvious that America — as well as the rest of the world — is in desperate need of healing. That’s why it’s a good thing that God sent us a Great Physician in the form of his own Son, Jesus Christ.

We read in the New Testament how Jesus — with only a touch or a word — healed lepers, the blind and the paralyzed. He even retrieved a man and a child from death: all incredible miracles that proved Jesus is indeed God among us. But if you think about it, these wonders were only temporary. All those whom Jesus healed or raised eventually died. Just as we all will one day.

But Jesus’ healing was much more than physical. It had (and still has) eternal, spiritual significance. In our 21^st century culture that worships vitality and outward appearance, Christ sees our real condition like an X-ray of our souls.

So what’s the prescription for true healing? It’s our simple faith in Him.

Christ-followers aren’t promised freedom from illness and death. That wonderful prospect disappeared with Adam and Eve. But we do have the promise of perfect health and happiness once we reach our eternal home with the Father. And it all starts with believing in Jesus’ power, asking for His help and having faith to the end.