My kids were sick over the holidays. I think just about everyone in America dealt with something flu-related. Yuk. My kids never really complained about their sickness, until they realized what their illnesses were keeping them from. For example, their individual illnesses bothered them the most when it interfered with playing in the snow, seeing their cousins, and especially when it delayed the opening of presents. It’s funny how medicine tastes sweeter when you have a desire for what the healthy life offers.
This week at our church we began a new series: “Keys to Healthy Living.” I gotta admit that my greatest illnesses have nothing to do with running a fever or enduring an upset stomach. My disease is deeper, more debilitating than that. We are all broken people, you realize that, don’t you? So let me ask you, “When are you most bothered by a lack of health?” Maybe it isn’t only when you hit rock bottom; perhaps it’s when you catch a glimpse of the life that you were created for, that you are missing out on. God knows that medicine tastes sweeter when we have a desire for what the healthy life offers.
Jesus made it very clear that He came for the sick, not the healthy. Which means that He came for me. And you. Good News: We don’t have to continue lying around in our unhealthiness. His desire is for us to grow healthier, to live the Life He offers.
This last weekend we begin discussing Biblical principles for health and growth. Take a minute to read John 5:1-9. You may feel the same way as the sick guy in this story – that this is worth getting out of bed for.