Everything about the gospel is oriented to our being made complete or whole – to be completely restored to God’s intention as he created us to be, to be completely whole and delivered from sin, to be completely able to live out the life that God wants us to live completely using his gifts and in complete physical, emotional, spiritual, mental and relational health. Jesus was always doing something bigger than a physical touch. He was making people whole. He touched the whole of them. We was concerned about the whole of them. He was simultaneously doing something to make them whole in not only physical but spiritual ways- bringing a fuller miracle than mere physical restoration. In feeding 5,000 he did so following healing many and with the compassion of a shepherd looking over people who were like sheep without a shepherd, helping his disciples become more whole in the process (Matthew 14:13-21). Looking at the paralytic, Jesus provided forgiveness and physical healing (Mark 2:1-12). He did something to one of the healed lepers beyond what he did for the others. He pronounced him more complete than the simple restoration of his flesh (Luke 17:11-19).
In the sermon on the mount, Jesus expanded living within the law to living as God fully intends us to live in heart and mind as well as in action. His aim seemed to be more about us being whole than being merely right. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism said something similar. “By salvation I mean not barely according to the vulgar notion of deliverance from hell or going to heaven but a present deliverance from sin, a restoration of the soul to its primitive health and its original purity, a recovery of the divine nature and the renewal of our souls after the image of God in righteousness and true holiness in justice, mercy and truth.” To him, being plucked from heaven and having a spot reserved in heaven was not a complete enough aim.
Our lives should be in pursuit of more than physical health, financial gain, or even emotional wellness. God has something far bigger in store for us. His grace is powerful enough to work complex and thorough healing in every area of life. He desires for us to be complete. And, our message to and prayer for others should follow suit. When I pray for the sick, I cannot stop the prayer at the border of physical wellness. When I pray for the emotionally troubled, I dare not stop praying at the border of emotional balance. When I pray for the spiritually depraved, I must continue praying not only for their salvation but for healing in their relationships and their ability to overcome the wounds and consequences of their troubled past by the deep grace of God that is not restricted by boundaries. That is the gospel. Pursue wholeness in Christ. Don’t stop short of that. Seek grace for wholeness. Proclaim the possibility of wholeness to others.