JESUS once took pity on a crippled man by the Pool of Bethesda. It was thought there were healing properties in those waters. But then, THE HEALER came and simply told the man to pick up his pallet and walk. And he did. A miracle happened. He was made whole. Jesus disappeared but later sought out the man in the Temple and said, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.”
Jesus' teaching could not be more plain. Sin may well bring sickness and even tragedy of great magnitude. King David experienced this. "When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long." But nowadays, it is not commonplace to admit that personal sin may be the cause of MY illness or hardship. It is hardly ever even explored as a possibility, at least not outwardly. But, Jesus instructs us otherwise. But before learning more about this, let me proceed to say the following:
It is must be made clear that sin is not always the cause of bodily breakdown, life's heartaches, tragedies and grave disappointments. Therefore caution must be exercised not to hastily pin it accordingly. For instance, it just may be that genetics play a causal role when a person suffers. A physical weakness may well be inherited. Most people experience this in one form or another, sometimes painfully so. But even if such be the case, God uses it for His glory and, in a deeper sense, for our good. Mysteriously, our weaknesses and hurts make us stronger if, like Job of old, and with his undoubting faith, we say, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." A famous naturalist learned this centuries later, not realizing the Bible taught it long ago. He watched with pity the struggle of a chrysalis breaking out of a cocoon. He took his knife and slit the silken casket to make the process easier. But what emerged was a weak creature with an anemic body and bleached wings, unable to fly.
Furthermore, diseases of many a sort may well just be 'in the air.' We simply 'catch a bug.' Let us remember we exist under the curse pronounced upon all of life as set forth in Genesis 3. Harmful bacteria and viruses abound and at any moment may invade anyone's body. And so, we suddenly become sick, even violently ill. Troubles and trials abound. But mysteriously and wonderfully God uses even such experiences for many directives and sanctifying reasons in our lives. Hopefully at such a time we can say with the Apostle Paul, "Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:9,10).
Which brings us to God's work in shaping and molding our lives. In a Christians life He is ever seeking to make every one of His children more and more like His Son, Jesus Christ. Paul's ministry promoted this. He said, "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you... (Galatians 4:19). And so God, in His inimitable way, uses evil to produce great positive good in our lives. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus, let alone in this life. We will understand it better by and by. Insightfully it was once said, "At birth, deny a child the ability to see, hear and speak, and you have a Helen Keller."
BUT, the fact remains, personal sin in 'the here and now' may also well be the cause of any illness, accident or struggle in life. Humbly we must search for and acknowledge such, repent and confess thereof. And so, Jesus said "do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.” Rarely is this cause of tragedy, in whatever form, taught or humbly confessed.
A full orbed theology of sickness is vital so that we can deal more wisely with the pains and sufferings so common in life's journey. We all get ill. We all hurt sooner or later and we all are tempted to even doubt God. Why? Well, understanding a Biblical rationale is critical to handling such agonies better when they occur. And being comforted therein, for whatever the cause, we come to know that God is walking nearby in any 'Bethesda' that happens in 'my' life. He looks on mercifully ready to help and heal, or just give the grace needed for whatever the trying experience.
C.H. Spurgeon remarked, "I venture to say that the greatest earthly blessing God can give to any of us is health, with the exception of sickness. Sickness has frequently been of more use to the saints of God than health has."
A certain exquisitely priceless relationship with one's dear heavenly Father intimately occurs only during the hardships of life. Blessed be His Name! Sickness, when sanctified, teaches us four things: the vanity of this world, the vileness of sin, the helplessness of man and the preciousness of Christ.
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