Imitating Holiness

Friday afternoon, March 7, 2008
This is what Jesus said to a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness CAUSED BY a spirit (she was bent double and could not straighten up at all!): “Woman, you are freed from your sickness” (Luke 13:12). This is what Jesus did to this woman after he set her free from her sickness: “And He laid His hands upon her. . .” (vs. 13a). This is what this woman did in response to Jesus’ words and touch: “. . . Immediately she was made erect again, and began glorifying God” (vs.13b). Wow! This is about as good as it gets! Simple, straightforward, no hoopla! I love it!
It is intriguing to me that we seldom identify any sickness, as being caused by a spirit; it is as if we have become so sophisticated in our theological ideating that we have somehow decided that “spirits” no longer exist, even the Holy Spirit. Sadly, most of the precious few, who do still believe in the Holy Spirit, have so discounted His Person and His Power, that they know nothing of this aforementioned woman’s experience.
The fact is because of modern medicine this woman would have been treated much more differently today, and from what I have seen, she would have gone to her grave in this terrible condition. Please do not assume that I am condemning modern medicine because I am not; instead, you can rest assured that I thank God for it, especially in light of the church’s attitude toward the Holy Spirit. Neither do I want you to go to the other extreme and refuse to see your doctor because “you have such faith in the Holy Spirit’s desire and ability to heal your sickness.” In my opinion, in either case you would be walking in fear, not in faith.
The truth is I have no idea, as to whether this woman was walking in fear or in faith, but I do know that in her case it really did not matter because Jesus had decided to heal her and that was that and nothing was going to stop Him, not even the “spirits,” with all of their “power”! Yes, I know that this throws a wrench in the theology that some of you hold dear but, hopefully, it will be a good thing. We desperately need to get over ourselves and to submit our lives to Him, accepting the fact that He does as He pleases, irrespective of our opinions and our dearly held beliefs.
Now, I have said all of that, so I can say this: Most of us are so caught-up in our dearly-held beliefs, our “inerrant” theological paradigms, that we miss the everyday miracles of the Holy Spirit; we are so convinced that “spirits” no longer exist, that we refuse to see the exorcism that takes place right before our eyes; we are so convinced that the Holy Spirit is a figment of someone’s imagination, that it never occurs to us that EVERY healing, every exorcism, and every erect spine is the direct result of His intervention.
Take a look at the response of the religious leaders, the synagogue officials, to this incredible act of mercy and grace, this exorcism, this miraculous healing: “And the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the multitude in response, ‘There are six days in which work should be done; therefore come during them to get healed, and not on the Sabbath day’” (vs. 14). It is quite easy to see the folly of another, is it not? This synagogue official was convinced that he was “right” and Jesus was “wrong”; in fact, he hated Jesus but he loved the Law of Moses, so much so, that in his mind, keeping the Sabbath day holy was far more important than this woman’s healing.
Sadly, I am afraid that this is true for most modern-day Christians; to put it mildly, most look and act much more like this synagogue official than the healed woman—trying to imitate holiness, rather than accepting our need for a healer. This synagogue official was so busy trying to imitate holiness, that he wasn’t even aware that his condition was worse, much worse, than the woman’s; at least, she knew that she needed a healer, so much so that the Sabbath was fine with her.
Are you aware of your need for a healer? Are you willing to accept Him on His terms, or must He come on yours? When the pain gets severe, any old Sabbath will work, even if it involves an exorcism! And by the way, holiness cannot be imitated!