Archive for March 18, 2009
Concern for the whole person
Lenten reflection: Week 4
By Rev. Kelly Demo, CFCA preacher
Lent, as we know, is a time of preparation and self-reflection. It is a time set aside to examine our relationship with God and our need for healing in our own lives. Scripture shows us time and again that God is greatly concerned with our wholeness, in mind, body and spirit. In fact, “wholeness” and “holiness” come from the same word that means “completeness.”
In 2 Kings, Chapter 4, we hear a strange and wonderful story of Elisha bringing a family back to wellness and wholeness. Like Sarah before her, God promised a Shunammite woman a son in her old age. God kept that promise but years later the young boy died. However, God would not forget his promise and, through Elisha, brought the boy back to life, restoring the faith of the mother.
CFCA’s benefits are structured to follow this guideline of concern for the whole person and the family. We do not simply feed children. Nor do we just educate them or see to their medical concerns. We are concerned for the whole person and we walk with them and bring others along to do the same.
Take, for instance, a widow in Guatemala whose son was sponsored through CFCA. The woman was suffering from depression and because of her illness she was unable to move forward in her life. She was unable even to address the health concerns of her son. He began to have trouble in school, and it was believed to be because of hearing loss.
CFCA was helping this family financially, but it was not until we brought in another CFCA mother to minister to the little boy’s mother that changes started happening. It took more than just the CFCA staff to help this woman back to health in mind, body and spirit. It took God working through someone who was not that different from her, to help heal her.
God, as the ultimate and perfect parent, is deeply concerned for the wholeness of each of his 6-billion-plus children. We need only open ourselves to the Spirit and to our fellow travelers through whom the Spirit works.
Reflection questions:
1. Where do you need healing in your life in mind, body or spirit?
2. Who might God be placing in your path who needs the gifts you have to offer for their healing?
