Monday, August 18, 2008

Real Healing, Real Transformation, Real Jesus

I never heard of Todd Bentley until a few days ago. Apparently he's some kind of widely(?) known charismatic healer. Apparently he did something bad, and now he is in trouble. As usual in these sorts of cases, his failure is causing many to question their (apparently misplaced) faith.

Regardless of the particular incident and person in question, there is a most excellent commentary on the blog THE JESUS PARADIGM.

It asks a great question about people who are carried away by such "ministries" as Bentley's -- i.e. did anyone involved "actually READ the Gospels?"

He doesn't say it in the article, but it occurs to me that it warnt for nothin' that Jesus often healed people and then told them to keep their traps shut about it. As I mentioned earlier, I had not heard of Todd Bentley until I read about him on Jesus Shaped Spirituality. But, I know his type very well. The observations are dead on. Where is Jesus in all this, other than using his name a kind of magic incantation babbled incessantly? If you really heal like Jesus healed, then you'd be telling a lot of people to get up and walk, and don't tell anyone how you managed it. I haven't seen much of that.

Transformation is painful by nature, and usually involves enormous amounts of sweat and blood. And it is risky. In my experience one goes into a trans formative period blind and full of fear, because it seems as if it could as likely end up in your death as in new life. I recently experienced such a crisis, and it is still working itself out in my life. All I had to hold onto was Jesus and his transformative work in me and in my wife. I couldn't see the other side, but I could hope - and in the midst of it Jesus came to us and is changing us now.

Meditating on Jesus himself, and HIS transforming power helps me understand what is happening and how YHWH can still use even stupid, weak, and blind little me to advance his Kingdom.

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