Healing
Scripture Reading — Matthew 8:14-17
When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.
—Matthew 8:16
In A.D. 410, barbarian tribes poured into Rome, ravaging and pillaging the proud city. In response to critics who said the rise of Christianity had weakened Rome, Augustine, bishop of the city of Hippo in North Africa, wrote The City of God. In that lengthy book, which became a major influence in Western civilization, Augustine brought assurance to those who had been violated and explained how Christ brings hope to the world. In his writing Augustine aimed to bring the healing power of Christ and his good news to people’s traumatized hearts and lives.
The Lord Jesus himself was “a man of suffering, and familiar with pain” (Isaiah 53:3). From the time of his boyhood in Bethlehem, where he barely escaped a massacre, to his death on the cross, he was the target of violence and hatred. But he moved with love among the people of Israel, healing miraculously with a touch or a word.
Over the door of a great hospital in New York City is an inscription: “Of The Most High Cometh Healing.” Whatever haunts your heart and threatens to leave your life a ruin, look to Jesus for healing. Remember, “He took up our pain and bore our suffering” (Isaiah 53:4).
Heavenly Father, thank you for the healing of physical pains and difficulties. But we know that the root of our trouble is deeper, and that only you can ultimately heal our souls. Stretch out your healing hand today. Amen.
About the author — George Young
George Young, a native New Yorker, worked as a taxi driver in New York City before studying to become a pastor. Then he, his wife Ruth, and their children were missionaries for many years in northeastern Japan. They worked with ministers and believers from the Reformed Church in Japan to spread the good news of salvation in Christ and establish new churches. Now George and Ruth are retired and live in the northeastern United States, nearer to their children and grandchildren.
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