He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)
The first few days following recovery from a serious illness are often filled with a grateful awareness of just how good it is to be well. It’s as if every fiber of our being is shouting, “I’m healed.” At such moments we are keenly aware that we’ve been oppressed by something dreadful. The memory of its appalling weight on our body and soul is still fresh and contrasts vividly with our new vigor and joy.
In time, we are likely to take health and well-being for granted. Our normal rounds and busy schedules and family routines and personal pursuits demand our attention and we gradually take less notice of the physical, spiritual, and emotional wellness that make all of this normal activity possible. We forget that we have been healed.
Christian disciples draw their greatest joy and their most powerful energy from an enduring awareness that we are healed. The Cross of Jesus Christ has healed us. On analogy with our recovery from physical illness, the spiritual healing of the Cross can fade from our view. Lent is the season of the Church Year during which we undertake spiritual disciplines to help us recover the flush of joy and gratitude that comes from actively acknowledging that the Cross has healed us.
I want to share with you some thoughts about the joy and power of life under the Cross. But before considering the profound effects of the Cross in our daily living, let’s remind ourselves briefly what the Cross has done for us.
Jesus Christ died on the Cross for our sins. God’s justice is absolute. That is to say, God cannot simply turn a blind eye to moral transgressions. Some today suggest that God can forgive our sins simply by not counting them against us: letting that one go, as it were. But this is not the case. Sin is not merely someone’s failure to follow a rule that otherwise leaves everything as it was before. On the contrary, the moral law governs the balance and coherence of the entire universe. Breaking the law fractures reality in a way that effects the whole creation. Sin breaks the Creation in a way that only God can restore. Above all, sin drives us far from God.
Perhaps if God were only a God of justice, he might leave us to languish in our own fractured condition. But Holy Scripture teaches us again and again that the God of perfect justice is the God of perfect mercy. God’s mercy is not permissiveness. He cannot by his very nature sweep things under the carpet. Justice and mercy alike lead God to restore the broken Creation to wholeness. Our wholeness as human beings is impossible without being drawn close to God once again. And that is just what God does for us with the Cross of his Son Jesus Christ. We were broken by sin. Our relationship with God was broken by sin. And the Cross has made us whole again. We are healed by the wounds of Jesus Christ.
Our healing comes at a cost. Jesus suffered the agony of our sins so that we can be free from their oppressive weight and dreadful power. Disciples of Jesus Christ have the opportunity to begin each day with the realization, “I am healed!”
When we accept the atoning sacrifice of the Cross for our sins, we can live a life of remarkable freedom. We are free from harsh, tyrannical forces and free to embrace joyful, playful life.
With a keen awareness of the Cross, we are remarkably free from fear. I need no longer look over my shoulder or crowd out today’s surprises and challenges with the debt of making up for the past. Neither is the future a source of anxiety for me, because I know that in all things Christ will draw me closer to him. So many of us fear that we are not loved or exhaust ourselves earning a love that feel unworthy to receive. We drain ourselves overworking, seeking to please others, and hiding our faults for fear of rejection. The Cross frees us from such fear, because it is God’s enduring sign of unconditional love. Seeing us at our worst, he sent his Son to die for us so that he can make us our best.
The Cross also frees us to do uncanny things. We can love unlovely people and return kindness for indifference and even cruelty. Because Jesus has forgiven us, we can forgive others whether or not they happen to appreciate it. Because we have been sick and now are healed (and yes, the process of healing continues), we appreciate others on their spiritual sickbeds and rejoice in their healing.
This Lent, let’s throw ourselves into our spiritual disciplines trusting that they will help us to know ourselves as healed. It is good to be well. And it is good to remember each day that by his wounds we are healed.
