The Bible Speaks to You May 4, 1968 Issue

[The above is an abbreviated, postproduction text of the program released for broadcast the week of April 26-May 2 in the radio series, "The Bible Speaks to You." Heard internationally over more than 1,000 stations, the weekly programs are prepared and produced by the Christian Science Committee on Publication, 107 Falmouth Street, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. 02115.]

RADIO PROGRAM NO. 317 - "Thou art made whole"

Questioner: All people want to be well, but a mere willingness to be healed of disease doesn't necessarily bring healing.
Speaker: But when this willingness is a deep prayerful desire, it can be a very important first step toward healing. When it is expressed as a turning to God, it can lead one to begin to discover the Bible's rich insights into man's God-given wholeness. Perhaps the individual needs to ask himself, Am I seeking to be healed of physical discord exclusively, or am I really willing to be made whole?
Questioner: Made whole?
Speaker: Yes. I'm thinking of a spiritual regeneration of thought —more than just making a material body well—putting off the limited mortal concept of oneself, which includes hate, fear, envy, resentment, and letting more of one's spiritual God-given identity come to light.

Christ Jesus hinted at this relationship between thought and body when he spoke to the man at the pool of Bethesda who had been an invalid for some thirty-eight years. He was one of many seeking healing. And yet Jesus asked him the searching question (John 5:6), "Wilt thou be made whole?"

You see, Jesus' ministry was a religious ministry. The account makes it clear that, while Jesus certainly didn't ignore the man's physical condition, he was actually concerned with the state of the man's thought. And that's what he dealt with.

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