Thrillled to Healing

Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."

Luke 7:50 

Here we go again, getting all mystical, playing with the occult & flirting with blasphemy! As you can plainly see above, though; these are not MY words: they are the words of Jesus, the Son of 'God', according to Luke's version of the Gospel. What if these words were true today, though, in a universal sense & we could actually save ourselves, simply by believing? ( that's a rhetorical question, by the way ) You are encouraged to read the entire story in Luke, of which the quote above is the very last statement, for it brings Jesus' words into much-needed context. The woman in question, presumably a prostitute by profession, is healed, forgiven of her 'sin' because of her faith, bolstered by her love in action. Although this story, like many if not all such, in the four Gospels, may be accounted little more than a parable of Israel, it also bears Universal Truth in that it shows ( if read with an open mind & heart ) that our inner state most often determines our outer!

While many fear to tread the plains of mysticism & esoterica, one does not need to delve very deep to realize the truth of this statement; 'As above, so below'! This is actually a very deep & comprehensive, yet simple statement, ranging from the highest 'heaven' ( sky ) to the earth below & humanity on Earth. This is not to say that every illness that any individual human being has ever experienced can be attributed directly to their spiritual state: much of the illnesses & dis-ease that modern humanity now suffers from is the product, or result of generations of abuse & neglect, 'the sins of our fathers ( ancestors )', if you will. In terms of humanity, though, there is abundant evidence that our ailments very often have a direct link to the thoughts we think. Now, again, this is not to say that every form of dis-ease is curable, simply by improving our thought processes. However, it can be shown that, just by improving our demeanor, we can improve our health, if only our mental health. Improving mental health, in turn, most often leads to improved bodily ( biological ) health!

When Jesus spoke those words of healing & forgiveness to the 'sinner' who dared to present herself to the Son of Man; do you think that she was 'healed' of her affliction ( some scholars teach that this was the same woman  of Mark 16:9 & Luke 8:2 ) because of the Strength & Comfort of His words? We know that words have the power to heal, as well as the power to harm. For example, any parent can bear witness to the power of a word spoken in haste to a little child. Most often, a word spoken in haste, whether it be to a child or an adult, is almost instantly regretted when the speaker sees the harm that has been done, but sadly, those words cannot be withdrawn; the resulting damage can only be healed by carefully chosen words, followed by action, though it usually doesn't hurt if the healing action precedes the words!

The Power of the Mind cannot be denied! Not only does every action we carry out, whether for good or evil, begin in our mind ( consciously or unconsciously ), there have been studies done which seem to prove the power of one's mind over the actions of others! While concepts like this may reside in the realm of science fiction currently, it would not be a stretch, if one approached the subject carefully ( with an open mind & heart ), to say that this concept is not only not a new one; the reality has lingered just beneath the surface of what we call 'reality' for time immemorial!

Most Christians readily proclaim that the 'God' of the Bible simply spoke the Universe into existence, that Jesus simply spoke the words, 'Your sins are forgiven' & it was so; why then, do we find it hard to believe that our words, our thoughts, might have a similar power?! As we have seen & many can attest to, our words DO have a very similar power! When someone transgresses against us personally, though it may not not have have been what we call a 'sin'( against 'God' ); if/when we forgive that person of his or her transgression ( 'sin' ), is not that person forgiven? If by our words we can make another person become physically ill ( at dis-ease ), does it not make sense that we can heal that dis-ease as well? This is not to say either, that like the Jesus of the Bible, we can cast out 'demons' or heal any infirmity, including death, although, with a careful search, one may find evidence to the contrary!

CAN we heal ourselves?! There is much 'evidence' out there to say that, 'yes, we can'! One might find that some of this 'evidence' is greatly exaggerated, while others is down-right 'fairy-tales', but one thing we can be sure of, there is more to it than superstition. Like the Bible itself, or any other example of religious literature, one must read between the lines, so to speak, to ascertain the Universal Truths therein. Jesus, yes, forgave the woman ( Israel ) her sins, but then told her that it was her faith that had saved her: if only we could grasp the true import of His words, 'what dreams may come'?!

Charles Haddon Shank