I'm sure you've been ill yourself, and let's face it, it's not good to be ill. We're in pain, we're cranky, we're irritable. The body, the whole human organism, feels that something is wrong.
The conscience that is encoded in us also signals in the sinner that something is not right. Something is missing, life is not whole, but he cannot grasp what it is that is missing.
“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:17 ESV
Mark 2:13-17
Once again, it's time to get out your Bible and read today's passage.
Pascal's well-known phrase that "in every man there is a God-shaped vacuum". No matter what you try to fill this vacuum with, it will not fit. My children used to play a lot when they were little with the game where you had to put the different shapes in the right place, and he tried to put the triangle in the circle but it didn't fit, or the rhombus in the star shape, but it didn't fit because it wasn't the right shape.
So it is with man, the absence of God can only be filled by the presence of God. But this is so difficult for sinful man to see and accept. Just as the doctor can only help you if you go to him and take the medicine or treatment as he instructs, so God will deliver you from the disease of sin if you admit that you are a sinner and need help, repent of your sins, and fill the missing void in your life with God.
Scripture says that it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. Jesus cannot deal with a man who thinks he is righteous. And here, in brackets, I would like to mention the expression he thinks he is righteous, because infact he only thinks he is righteous, but he is not. The apostle Paul describes it quite clearly in Romans 3:10:
„As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”” Romans 3:10-12 ESV
Jesus will not force eternal life on anyone. He has paid too high a price to force it on someone who doesn't want it, like a canvasser. But to anyone who admits that they are "sick" with the disease of sin, Jesus has every desire to help, and there is no great sin that Jesus cannot forgive, for He took all our sins to the cross.
If you need Jesus, come to him, he is waiting for you, he wants to make your life complete. He wants to heal you and fill the void in your soul.
Reflective questions
- Have you ever realized that you are suffering from the disease of sin? Jesus is the true physician who can heal you. Jesus can give you a permanent cure, not just a temporary symptomatic treatment. Not only does He take care of your daily problem today, but He gives the solution to the question of eternal life, eternal life instead of death. Come to Him today.
- We don't just go to the doctor when we are sick. The best way to protect ourselves from illness is prevention. If God has saved you and you have a new life, it is important to prevent sin, which means the more time you spend with God, the more likely you are to prevent sin. Make prevention a priority for you too.
This week, do a little "mental health" check-up. What are the areas in your life that need healing. Give those areas to Jesus, too, and let Him heal you completely.
Judit
If you have any stories to share with us related to the above, please contact us.
If you have any questions about today's passage, please feel free to contact us. Have a blessed week.