When I was growing up in the ‘40’s and ‘50’s, my friends occasionally disappeared from school for 2 weeks at a time, and sometimes I did, too. That’s because we all had to suffer through the debilitating diseases of mumps, measles (several kinds), chicken pox, flu, and several others.

These days children are blessed with vaccines. They can breeze through childhood skipping almost everything except the common cold. Well, that and a few other things.

Today Birgitta and Louisa brought home two amoxicillin prescriptions after slogging through 3 days of 102 fevers, razor-sharp sore throats, and nausea. I was certain they had strep throat, but with today’s lab reports, we learned they have a strep-lookalike called pharyngitis, an inflammation of the tube that connects the nasal passages, throat, and esophagus.

Sometimes, the doctor said, pharyngitis is a precursor to strep, and so she wrote the prescriptions. It’s my opinion these meds will perk them both up, and I hope they’ll feel better soon.

Scripture has a number of things to say about healing. In the Gospels we watch Jesus speak words of wellness over people that bring instant good health. How thrilling it would have been to be part of the crowd that witnessed this phenomenon first hand! If we’d have been there, we’d also have noticed Jesus connecting his healings with belief in God. He forgave their sin. Or taught of God’s character. Sometimes he challenged people to live righteously from then on. And he often made mention of their personal faith in him.

Jesus also talked of healing of another kind, the healing of broken hearts. As we move  close to him during times of sadness, he promises to mend us. And compared to physical healing, heart-healing is probably the more important one.

The Bible also says something else about healing. The wounds Christ suffered when he was tortured and put to death are somehow the cause of healing within us, healing from sin. Isaiah 53 says, “With his stripes we are healed.” Although we can’t fully comprehend  how this works, we take him at his word and accept that his crucifixion wounds are what will allow us to be healed (and sinless) throughout eternity.

Although Jesus can certainly affect physical healing in people today, we don’t see much of it in our country. Maybe that’s because the more important bottom line is not how vigorous we feel in the here and now but how healthy our life after death is going to be. And whether we’re hale and hearty in this life or find ourselves battling illness, it’s eternal health that God wants us to focus on most.

Meanwhile, Louisa and Birgitta continue to swallow with difficulty and hope their antibiotics kick in soon. Though each had to pay a doctor’s bill today, their expenditures were miniscule compared to what Jesus paid to make sure they can have good health everlastingly.

“O Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed; if you save me, I will be truly saved.” (Jeremiah 17:14)