Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Whew!...I mean, good morning!

I guess that “whew” was a result of glancing at my list. And it doesn’t seem to be getting any shorter or less complicated. If I was a good multi-tasker and didn’t need any sleep, maybe I could handle it.

The last couple verses of today’s reading triggered some fresh thinking. Jesus said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see” (v. 23). Without checking other translations, the phrase “the eyes” grabs my attention—it’s not specifically “your eyes”—implying human eyes in general—implying that the blessing could include MY eyes—if I am able to see the bigger picture of what Jesus is intending me to see. Read it again. What do you think?

Have a blessed day—even if you’re kind of overwhelmed with your list—like me.

Love, Dad/Ray.

Question: What if you had and could sustain by yourself the miracle working power of God at a level where EVERYONE you laid your hands on and prayed for was healed or delivered?—that’s EVERYONE EVERY TIME WITHOUT EXCEPTION—none of this questionable nebulous partial intermittent stuff that is so common surrounding ALL divine healing ministries that I have ever been around. By putting forth this question, I am not implying that I disbelieve in or deny God’s power to heal and deliver—or that He still does so in our day—or that praying for the sick should be curtailed. I do, however, draw these general conclusions (opinions) concerning God’s intentions for such displays of His miraculous interventions:

1. Miracles are not normal—that’s why they’re called miracles. They are clear identifiable dramatic interruptions of normal and natural processes.
2. Miracle gifts of physical healing are best viewed as forms of advertising for the Kingdom of God—attention getters—pointing to man’s greatest need for psycho-spiritual healing from the universal sickness of SIN.
3. Miracle gifts of physical healing are always temporary. It doesn’t matter how many times a person has been healed, they will still die. And, of course, dying is not physically healthy.

In the passage before us, Jesus selects a special troop of 72 representatives to spread through the communities in advance of His visiting them. He gives specific instructions for how they were to prepare, what they would say, what they would do, where they would stay, and even what they were to eat. The campaign was obviously a success because they returned from their assignment with heady excitement and reported to Jesus, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” How Jesus responds is very significant. Allow me to paraphrase: “Even though I’m sending you out into a hostile environment where you in and of yourselves are like weak little lambs in the presence of wolves (v. 3), you are nevertheless spiritually strong and invincible in My service (even if you are persecuted and killed—Luke 12:28; Romans 8:38-39). So be careful about being intoxicated with your ministry successes as show-off trophies for propping up the legitimacy of your faith (and lifestyle), but rejoice that you have been given the opportunity of faith, with the power to do what you could never do on your own—power to become a child of God by believing and trusting in me (John 1:12)—and having your names entered into God’s database of eternal life” (Revelation 21:27).

Back to my lead question—What if you had and could sustain by yourself the miracle working power of God at a level where EVERYONE you laid your hands on and prayed for was healed or delivered? I wish I could hear your answer. Quite honestly, my prediction is that your arrogant ego would swell to the point of corruption—because I believe mine would—and a lot of people would likely become confused and contaminated along the way.