Your Faith Has Made You Well: Healing Beyond the Cure
This Weekend with Christ, we reflect upon what it truly means to be made well. We often equate healing with a physical cure, but the Bible shows us something deeper. Our readings present three stories of faith: Naaman, the powerful general humbled by a small command; Paul, the persecutor transformed by an even greater purpose; and ten lepers, nine of whom receive a cure but only one who receives true wholeness. This journey calls us to recognize that faith is the key not just to a cure, but to profound and lasting wellness.
Healing Through Humility (2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c) In our Old Testament reading, we meet Naaman, a great and powerful commander—a man who had everything except health. He was afflicted with leprosy. His only hope comes from a surprising source: a captive servant girl who tells Naaman’s wife about the prophet Elisha in Israel.
Naaman arrives with great pomp and expectation, believing that a miracle must be a dramatic show of power. But Elisha doesn't even come out to meet him. Instead, he sends a simple instruction: "Go, wash in the Jordan seven times." Naaman is furious. The rivers in his own country are better! He almost stalks off in a rage, demanding spectacle instead of simplicity. Naaman’s miracle hinged entirely on his ability to swallow his pride, set aside his expectations, and submit to a humble, mundane act. His physical healing was preceded by his spiritual humbling. It reminds us that often, God's healing and help come not in the way we expect, but in the simplest act of obedience.
Wellness Through Purpose (2 Timothy 2:8-15) Paul's letter to Timothy addresses the reality of hardship. Paul himself is a prisoner, yet his spirit is free and energized by the Gospel. He tells Timothy to "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead." For Paul, wellness is not defined by external comfort or freedom from chains, but by an unwavering focus on the resurrection.
He urges Timothy to "endure everything for the sake of the elect" and to "rightly handle the word of truth." Paul found his healing and his ultimate well-being in his purpose. He didn't seek an easy life; he sought a true life, anchored in Christ. His physical hardship meant nothing because his spiritual purpose was everything. This is a vital lesson for us: when we anchor our lives in the eternal truth of Christ's resurrection and the purpose He has given us, the trials of this world lose their power over us. That profound purpose is the source of inner peace and resilience—it is wellness of the soul.
Wholeness Through Gratitude (Luke 17:11-19) Finally, Jesus gives us the definitive statement on the matter with the healing of the ten lepers. They cry out, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" Jesus simply tells them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." The text tells us that as they went, they were cleansed. They all received the cure. The physical disease left them.
But only one of them, a Samaritan—an outsider—turned back. This man, "when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice." He fell at Jesus's feet, giving thanks. And Jesus asks the heartbreaking question: "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?" Then He tells the one: "Your faith has made you well."
There is a powerful distinction here. The other nine received a cure, but they were not made truly well. They walked away with clean skin but ungrateful hearts. They got what they asked for—a physical fix—but the Samaritan received something far greater: wholeness, a saving, complete restoration that integrated his physical cure with his spiritual state. His faith was active; it recognized the source of the gift and compelled him to return in worship and gratitude.
A cure fixes the body; wholeness fixes the relationship—with God, with others, and with self.
Let us remember that true well-being is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of Christ. When we act in humble obedience, anchor our lives in Christ's resurrection purpose, and demonstrate profound, active gratitude for the blessings we receive, we move beyond just being cured. We are made truly well, and we hear the sweet words of the Master: "Your faith has made you well."
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