Greetings IN Christ,  5-17-09

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5

God created the human body with an amazing capacity for healing; God created the human soul, mind, heart and spirit with an amazing capacity for healing.  Wholeness and healing is fully possible IN Christ Jesus as he takes our brokenness and exchanges it for his wholeness.  Healing IN Christ takes place within the context of a deep understanding of the hurts and wounds, not by ignoring them or hoping they will go away.   Ignoring or burying hurts makes them go away in our mind, but our body, soul, mind, heart and spirit carries them.  Allowing God’s word to help us identify hurts allows healing.

I AM FINE! reflects most peoples’ perception of themselves, but upon closer examination they are not fine and we are not fine.  We want to be fine, we want others to perceive us as fine but we are not fine.  This is especially true in the area of our sexuality and marriages.  Cleansing, wholeness and healing is our deep desire, but so often we turn to so many, many things to fill our brokenness.  If you and your spouse deal openly with these issues, praise God then reach out in love and compassion to those around you.  If you are hurting, please pray that God would bring a person of the same sex into your life who will speak God’s healing to the deep places of your heart to guide you into health. Wholeness is worth the sacrifice!

 Here are a few examples where honesty is critical so that healing can begin or continue: 

1)      A person engages in casual sex, leaves that life behind to settle down to have a family.  I AM FINE! No! I am not fine.  The one flesh relationship God created is more than just a physical event.  Sex is a whole being experience. 

2)      A person becomes good or best friends with a person of the opposite sex who isn’t their spouse. I AM FINE! No! I am not fine.  Conversation is an intimate exchange, especially in matters of the heart.

3)      A person is lovingly engaged sexually with their spouse, but as time goes on, less openness, playfulness and intimacy is exchanged.  I AM FINE! No! I am not fine.  Love making is critical throughout marriage, as is openness and honesty.

4)      A person is deeply wounded sexually through incest, rape, abuse, abortion, pornography, etc. I AM FINE! No! I am not fine. 

Honesty is essential!  Do we need a counselor because we are not fine?  There may or many not be need for professional counseling with these various examples.  There is always and forever the need THE Counselor, the Holy Spirit to guide us into honesty, wholeness, health and healing.  The Holy Spirit will guide us into The Truth, Jesus Christ, and IN the truth there is freedom!  Christ Jesus bore our sin, our grief, our sorrows, our pain, our suffering in his body.  By his wounds we have been healed! 

Healing is a process that begins with honesty and courage.  Healing is a process aided by honest discussion and acknowledgment that sexual wounds can be the deepest of all wounds and it is rare to fine a venue where honesty and openness is acceptable for the sake of healing and wholeness.  Our Lord deeply desires our healing in his wounds. He lived a perfect life, suffered, died and rose to restore the broken relationship between God and man.  He carried our burdens so that we might live in deep joy and freedom IN him – now and for eternity.  We are FINE, very whole and beautiful in the beautiful body of Christ, let’s learn to live it and love it!  Surround people around you and allow yourself to be surrounded with Christ’s riches.  Blessings IN Christ, Cindy

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