We are not the Christ.

I’ve taken the title for the blog post from the text of this morning’s sermon, which was based on John 3:22 — 36. John the Baptist said that he was not the Christ. He was not going to let his pride get in the way of the work of God.

And in this passage we can see something also. We cannot heal forever. We will all face death. We all have difficulties: getting down the track to church this morning was painful, more so than walking back up.

We are the created, not the creator.

Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

(Mark 7:31-37 ESV)

What we tend to do is place ourselves in the place of Christ, and say “thus says the LORD”. What we should be doing is pointing to Christ.

What we do is try to solve other people’s problems, when they are not ours to solve. They are the problems that person faces: our help may be enabling them to continue in this problem rather than repent. It helps not if I give a person with addictions money. It can help if I take them to a local diner and feed them.

And in attempting to comfort those we ought not to we both remove the duty from the parents and spouse who should be husbanding, parenting, and wifing them up.

(Yes, most of this is stolen from the sermon).

For even when I use medications and interventions that have got double-blind placebo-controlled trials, sufficient to meta analyze, I do not know if this will truly help the person in front of me. I don’t heal. God does.

My job is to not get in the way.