Article December 18, 2006 ISSUE

The Christmas story and the healer

BY REBECCA ODEGAARD

Known alike throughout the Christian and non-Christian worlds, the Christmas story, of the long-anticipated arrival of the Messiah, took an unexpected route through the humble conditions of Christ Jesus' birth. But this unconventional turn is full of practical instruction for today's Christian healer.

As Christmases come and go, I've asked myself if I'm merely considering it fondly as a familiar ancient story, or if I am growing with it, allowing it to teach me to become a closer follower of Christ—the regenerative truths regarding God and His creation—and therefore a better healer. Useful lessons emerge as we peer into the story and find, beyond the well-known tale, its divinity—the divine essence of healing that it represents.