Spitting in the face

Does spitting in someone’s face ever help? 

No. The answer is absolutely no….unless you’re Jesus. (Seriously, please don’t go spitting in anyone’s face, ok?!)

This past Sunday we continued our series on being Healthy, WELLTHY, and Wise with our second message on emotional health. In the book of John, we read the story of the man born blind. In Jewish culture it was believed that if you were born with an affliction of any kind it was an indication that either you or your parents had sinned in a grievous way, deserving of life-long punishment. You were considered an abomination to the Lord and thus, an abomination to man. 

This man would have likely been spat on his whole life by a society that would have felt 100% justified to do so - “reminding” this man just how low he was. Can you imagine? It’s confusing then when we read of Jesus spitting in the dirt to paste the mud on his eyes as a part of the man’s healing. Why would he do this? Why, when He could have just spoken a word and this man be healed, did He use SPIT? You’d think the Son of God would be slightly more empathetic to this poor man’s life! So why then? 

Because when Jesus heals a person He does the work of healing the whole person. The man needed to see, yes. But he also had a lifetime of shame, humiliation and pain to be healed of too, right? Jesus could have just restored His sight with a word. No spit. No telling the man to go and wash. But in using spit, Jesus was beginning a deep inner healing that went beyond just being blind. The last time he was ‘spit on’ was when Jesus healed him, effectively stopping the shame and humiliation of a lifetime of being spit on dead in its tracks forever. WOW! 

Jesus heals the whole person. It matters to Him. And if it matters to Him it has to matter to us. 

I had a crazy thought. But I think it’s true. If we serve this Jesus, this One who does the work, the One who is so very very good at His job, the One who paid the ultimate sacrifice for you and me, the One who heals the whole person… shouldn’t we then be the ‘wholiest’ people on the planet?! The most full of joy, the most forgiving, the most forgiven, the most tender-hearted, the most healthy emotionally? That’s not to make us feel bad for having stuff we need to work on but to give us great hope that HE is capable and deeply interested in you and me. What an opportunity! 

How can you allow Jesus to do a work in you today? How can you willingly partner with Him? I’m praying for you. And Mike and I are right there beside you asking ourselves the same questions. Remember, many times in the gospels when Jesus heals a blind person, the first thing they would see was Him. He’s right there with you. He desires to see you whole. 

My prayer for our church family is that we would be people who aren’t afraid to allow the Lord to do deep, inner work in us. That we would have the courage to go beyond the surface and partner with the Holy Spirit in our emotional and inner health. And that as a result of that, we would have a desire to love His body and our community in the very same way. 

With much love…and noooo spit,

Pastor Laura