OUR YES AND GOD’S YES

      There is a story from the Old Testament that will point to our belief that God is a healer and forgiver who wants his people to be restored in his image. In the book of Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 we find the story of a letter written by the prophet Jeremiah to the exiled Jews in Babylon.

      Jeremiah’s letter reminds them that their captivity would last for seventy years. They were there for the long haul. They were to make the best of it. Yet, God gives them hope, and while they are in exile, they are to pray for the ones who have enslaved them. The exile of the Jewish people will be a test of their faith and an affirmation that even in such unfavorable conditions, God will not forget them. The story can be divided into two parts; the Jewish exile into Babylon, and God’s desire to bring them back to the Promised Land; forgiving and healing, and the promise of restoration.

      Now we can lay the Jeremiah story beside another story found in Luke 17. Jesus physically heals ten lepers. As soon as they were healed, they left Jesus, their leprosy gone. That is the first part of the story. However, we find that one of the lepers, a Gentile outsider, returned to give thanks and worship Jesus. That is the second part of the story. The one who returned received something even more powerful than physical healing. He received a second blessing---the gift of salvation, because of his faith in the one who had healed him and his gratitude for new life. Again, we see God busy healing forgiving, and restoring.

     Maybe the lesson from the two stories is that Jesus is a healer. He healed the Jewish people from their sin and brought them to a safe place, even if it was Babylon. Jesus also healed the lepers from their disease, which is a symbol of their outward sins. But Jesus is more than a healer, he is also Lord of our lives, Master, Teacher, and Sanctifier. So in our first story God says to the Jewish people, “I have forgiven your past sins. I have healed your souls and have given you an opportunity for a new life. The second part is up to you. Even though you are in a dark place in your life, you can be an example even to those who oppose you. You can grow spiritually, you can be a witness for me in your persecution, and you can strengthen your faith and trust in me by praying for those who are in opposition to you. I will bring you back, a changed people.”

      Can you hear God saying the same words to us today? “You are forgiven, healed from your past. Now I have much bigger things for you to do, and I want to turn you into men, women, boys, and girls whom you never thought you could be. I want you to grow spiritually, and in spite of your dark valleys, I will lead you to a holy life, a completely changed person. I will give you boldness and passion to be my witnesses”

           And then, there is the second story—the story about the ten healed lepers. Can we find ourselves somewhere? Jesus is saying to them and to us, “I forgive you and heal you from the things you have done—those selfish things which separated you from me, but I want to do much more. I want you to come back to me and ask for healing and cleansing from inside sin. I want you to worship me and give yourselves to me as the one Gentile did. I do not want you to be satisfied with just part of your salvation. There is more, much more and I want you to have full salvation.”

      Jesus has said a big “yes” to our forgiveness and healing. He has said a big “yes” to his willingness to change us into holy, completely surrendered people. In so many ways, Jesus has said “yes” to us. He is waiting for us to say “yes,” our “yes”to his eternal “yes.”

 Rev. Tim McConnell, Long’s Chapel UMC, August 11, 2013