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"Authentic Christianity should lead to maturity, personality, and reality. It should fashion whole men and women living lives of love and communion." --Brennan Manning in The Ragamuffin Gospel.
Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Luk 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Notice the last phrase in verse 18: “To set at liberty them that are bruised…” How are liberty and being bruised even connected? It would seem that those who are bruised need some kind of comfort or soothing, not liberty. And the answer is this: You get stuck/bound at whatever point you are bruised. Until your woundedness is healed, your life never moves past that point. You are enslaved. Therefore, bruised people need liberty, and this liberty comes only through HEALING.
Main Thought: The WHOLE/ULTIMATE PURPOSE of Jesus Christ coming to the world & dying on the Cross was to HEAL & MAKE WHOLE. If this healing doesn’t ever happen, then we have missed the whole point/purpose of Christianity!
Several Symptoms of Woundedness:
Fear, low self-esteem, permanent anger, broken relationships, hatred, bitterness, resentment, jealousy, insecurity, unforgiveness, unthankfulness, cynicism, dissatisfaction, lack of peace, blaming God, being driven by what others think, craving approval & acceptance, hiding/facades, anesthetizing oneself w/drugs, alcohol, sex, thrills, etc.—if you can’t change reality, then change your perception of reality, busyness/workaholic-ism, aggressiveness, being a control freak, aloofness (w/holding emotions from others, even family, to avoid getting hurt again), addictions (of all sorts: substances, romantic encounters, shopping, gambling, etc.), anxiety/worry, impatience, perfectionism, pride, constant preoccupation w/external appearance, overly sensitive/self-protective, revenge-seeking, attention-seeking, timidity, depression, feelings of abandonment, contentiousness, and dozens more…
Read how HEALING--and WHOLENESS--can take place in "With His Stripes We Are Healed:" https://www.christianchallengeministries.org/Articles/With_His_Stripes_We_Are_Healed/