It is so easy to get into a mentality that thinks, if I only do x, y, or z right, then I will be healed.
It is so easy to feel ashamed of pain and illness and depression, as if I have done something wrong, and I am being punished for my moral lapses or personal weakness.
Our culture tells me that if I eat better, exercise more, purge the toxins and swallow the antioxidants from my body, I will receive the reward of healing.
Our churches tell me that if I pray more, fast more, have more faith, believe better, serve harder, I will receive the reward of healing.
Eating well and praying hard are not bad things. And they may very well help us feel better in our bodies, minds, and spirits. But the deeper healing we all need does not come as a payment for our hard work. Healing is not a transaction.
Healing is a transformative act that Jesus wants to give us not because we deserve it or worked hard to earn it but simply because he loves us.
“Healing is not a reward. Healing is a gift of grace.”
– To Be Made Well
Read more with Amy Julia:
- To Be Made Well: An Invitation to Wholeness, Healing, and Hope
- We All Need Healing
- Read an Excerpt of To Be Made Well
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