Healing Love
Bible Readings
Take a few minutes to read the Bible verses listed and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in how this verse applies to you this week.
Memory Verse
“If you fall, your friend can help you up. But if you fall without having a friend nearby, you are really in trouble.” (CEV)
“Mom, Dad, I heard some bad news today,” Joshua told his parents at dinner. “My teacher, Mr. Williams, has cancer. He won’t be in school for a while.”
“Oh, Joshua, I’m so sorry,” Mom said.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Dad asked.
“Not really,” Joshua said. “I just wish we could do something.”
Have you ever felt like Joshua? Sometimes difficult situations impact the people we love. John 11 records a time when Jesus’ friend Lazarus got sick and died. Verse 35 shares Jesus’ first response to this terrible news: “Jesus wept.”
Then Jesus goes to the tomb where Lazarus’ family laid him to rest and miraculously restores Lazarus to life. What a celebration Lazarus and his family must have enjoyed!
Sometimes we focus on Jesus’ power to physically heal people, but that’s only part of the miracle. Restoring Lazarus’ life also healed his family’s broken hearts. It restored their joy.
We might not be able to physically heal those we love, like Jesus did. But, like Jesus, we can come alongside them and demonstrate God’s never-ending, always-present love. Even small acts of kindness, attention, and care remind others that we see them in their pain.
You might be wondering how Joshua’s story ends. Since Mr. Williams couldn’t teach for a while, Joshua and his classmates collected some of their own money to help Mr. Williams and his young family. Their choice set off a chain reaction, and soon the whole community pitched in—offering money, meals, rides, and more.
Mr. Williams still had cancer. The treatments still made him very sick. He still missed most of the school year. But he never felt alone. He never lost hope.
Like Joshua, you will have many opportunities in your life to both give and receive healing acts of love.
Prayer
Lord, thank you for the example of Jesus in the Bible, who shows us what it means to love others in their times of struggle. Give us wisdom to know when we can help, and the imagination to know how we can help, remembering that, sometimes, our presence is the greatest gift we offer. Amen.Related Resources
Sara Korber-DeWeerd
Sara Korber-DeWeerd is a freelance writer, teacher, and Down syndrome advocate. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband Mark and their three children, plus one dog and seven chickens. When not teaching or writing, Sara enjoys exploring the mountains, lakes, and rocky coastlines of New England with her active family (though they usually leave the chickens at home).