By His Stripes We Are Healed

By His Stripes We Are Healed

 

          Isn't it strange how we can hear quotes, clichés, and Bible verses all our lives and never Really hear them? Then suddenly it has a whole new meaning. Like the day when you are already running late and your favorite dress, the one you were planning to wear, has a sagging hem; is the day that you will really understand “a stitch in time saves nine.” Spend a week at the beach, in a small cabin, add 5 days of rain, no running water, 3 small children, a flat tire, and “there is no place like home” takes on a brand new meaning.

          So it was with, “by His stripes we are healed.” I know what it means. So do you. I’ve heard it in Sunday school as a child and as I grew older in church. This scripture finally penetrated my consciousness while waiting for an elevator in a crowded building. I paid no attention at the time, with my mind on important business I was in a hurry to attend to. However, that night I realized, all day, in the back of my mind, I had been thinking of what I overheard the two young men discussing.

          “I don’t feel good,” the first man remarked in a pained tone. “My ulcer is acting up again.”

          “You don’t have an ulcer!” answered his friend in a very positive way.

          “Yes, I do! I was in the hospital last month with what the doctor said was an unusually bad ulcer.” I detected a note of pride in his voice. Anyone can have an ulcer; his impressed the doctor. Maybe the doctor was impressed, but definitely not his friend.

          “That was then. You can’t have an ulcer now. Last week you accepted Jesus and by His stripes we are healed. Who are you going to believe? The doctor or Jesus?” There was no doubt in who this man believed! But just what are the stripes that heal?

          Isaiah 53:5 “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.”

          1 Peter 2:24 “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to our sins, should live unto rightness; by whose stripes ye were healed.”

          I went to the dictionary. The meaning mostly associated with stripes are: the welts left on the body after a beating. No one would deny the beating Jesus took at the hands of His accusers. Some say 7 lashes, others say 40, and for each lash a definite sin was forgiven the human race. Jesus suffered and died for our sins. For this we owe Him our unwavering gratitude. Is Gratitude Enough?

          I have trouble with this concept. How can the blood flowing from a predestined or preordained sacrifice appease a loving God? A pagan or heathen god, perhaps, but our Father God would not demand a blood sacrifice. I felt there had to be a deeper meaning.

          Jesus healed everyone brought to Him and many who were not. Lameness, deafness, disease, sin; even death bowed to Jesus’ command. There was no medicine, no operation, no hospital, no, “I think this might be more than I can handle, maybe you had better call a doctor.” There was no time lapse, no argument, no relapses, and none were just partly healed; and He told us to do likewise. That makes it important to know: what are the stripes that heal?

          The dictionary also describes a stripe as a “distinctive type, kind or sort.” (A man of his stripe.) Was there ever a more distinctive type of man than Jesus? A more loving, happy, healthy, compassionate, understanding, knowledgeable, man never lived. Can you think of anyone you would rather be like? Or anyone whose company you would prefer?

          I think here is the answer. We worship at the foot of the cross when we should be following in His footsteps! He showed us how to get the most out of life. Wouldn’t your life be more interesting and successful without sickness? Why, should it seem easier to be poor but honest, than to be rich, healthy and happy? Where in the Bible does it say God loves a sick man better than He does a healthy one? Or a sorrowful man more than a joyful one?

          Maybe you are afraid that if you follow in Jesus’ footsteps, God will send you to the cross, or cause something awful to happen to you to test your commitment to the truth? I do not believe that God needs, nor does He want, human sacrifice in any form. Don’t forget that the story goes on. Jesus rose from the dead. He continues to teach and shepherd His flock.

          1 Peter 2:25; “For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned into the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.”

          Going back to the dictionary, “Bishop; is a Christian having authority.”

          Take up your cross and follow Jesus With Authority! 

Tell the, so called, evil in your life that you see it for what it is: Nothing! God never made it, so it cannot exist. Name that evil disease, crisis, tragedy, loss, suffering, or whatever you will, it is Not God Made.

          Jesus didn’t ask God if this person was worthy of healing, or if God was willing or able. He just healed!

          Sickness, sin, and death are not something we must struggle with while on earth. Take control of your thoughts. Use your God given authority as Jesus did. Fill your mind with Love, Truth, and Principle. These are the stripes that heal.

          We must not see the cross as the emblem of suffering and shame. Let it represent, instead, the end of all suffering! Jesus died to show us death is a man make illusion, not the end of life. Our life is God. For life to end, God must die. Study and understand the type of man we are. Jesus told us, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” Honor and worship the master by becoming like Him. Jesus’ mission on earth was to provide us with a path to heaven where all suffering and death are shut out. The path we need to find and follow here and now!

          Life goes on. Beautifully, Healthfully, Peacefully, and Happily on, because, by His stripes we are still being healed.

         

`         1,083 words                              Loretta Ellen Edwards