"The hands of a king are the hands of a healer"

"The hands of a king are the hands of a healer." As the last part of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series unfolds, this sentence clues us in on one of the ways that the people of Middle Earth will recognize the True King. At the same time, Tolkien's words also identify a facet of Christ's character.

Before the impact of Tolkien's words can be appreciated, there is an important fact which needs to be understood: The world around us is broken. Completely broken. And, as Schaeffer points out The God Who Is There, this brokenness creates separation. Separation from God, separation from who we are, separation from those around us, and separation from the world in which we live. Because of sin, the world is not as it should be, nor can we relate to it the way we ought.

Understanding the state of the world opens up part of what Christ's salvation means - healing. Paul expresses this in Romans 8:
"For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God." (Romans 8:19-21 ESV) As Paul unpacks for us, the whole world was caught in our fall - but it will be restored as Christ's victory is completed.

The hands of a King are the hands of a healer. Christ demonstrates His authority through the healing He brings to the world. Christ does not seek merely to subdue the rebellion against His rule, He pursues a re-creation of the world which was damaged by this rebellion. The Gospel is not just a message about the defeat of sin. It is a message about God making all things new. This has two distinct impacts on our lives right now.

First, we can trust Christ to completely heal us, eradicating sin at both its deepest and widest reaches in our lives. When Christ restores, the impact is felt in all of our relationships. Being set right with God also means being set in right relationship with the rest of God's world. It means that the death which sin brought to the core of our being and to every area of our lives has been and is being removed. Some of this healing will be an ongoing work through the rest of our lives, but we can trust Christ to provide the healing, strength, and grace to outwork this new life each day.

Second, the effect of the Gospel on our lives is a witness to others of Christ's authority. Schaeffer puts it this way in The God Who Is There: "What we are called to do, upon the basis of the finished work of Christ in the power of the Spirit through faith, is to exhibit a substantial healing, individual and then corporate, so that people may observe it. This too is a portion of the apologetic: a presentation which gives at least some demonstration that these things are not theoretical but real; not perfect, yet substantial." In other words, our witness to others is not solely that the Rightful King has returned and we can prove His credentials, but also that His rule has brought healing to our lives. The healing impact of the Gospel in and through the Church demonstrates to others that Christ is the foundation of reality.

The hands of a king are the hands of a healer. A life that is justified at the Cross will be a life characterized of substantial healing in the world around them - the result of an application of the Gospel to all of life. Not only will their life be healed, but they will then extend that healing to the world around them.

As you look back on your life, can you see areas where Christ's healing has changed you? What opportunities do you have to extend His healing to the world around you?