I contacted my cardiologist regarding some heart palpitations (off-rhythm heart beat) that I thought was a side effect of blood pressure medicine. He put me on a special heart monitor to identify the problem. The conclusion was that I had a pre-heartbeat and was already on the best medicine to control that. So, my wife asked the Pharmacist if some of my medicines might be interacting badly. The Pharmacist said no, but suggested that radiation (which I had for prostate cancer last fall) could deplete my body of magnesium. So I began taking magnesium supplements and the palpitations went away. The magnesium treated the deeper problem and the symptoms went away.

When Jesus was in Capernaum, a large crowd came to the home where He was staying (Mark 2:1-2). As He was teaching, some men made an opening in the roof and lowered a paralyzed man on a mat. Jesus initially responded not by healing the man but by saying, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (v. 5). The deeper need of the man was not physical but spiritual. Then, to show His authority to forgive, Jesus healed the man and sent him on his way – not only with legs that moved but with a heart that was forgiven (v. 12).

Sin is the deeper problem that creates the symptoms of sinful acts in our lives. We must not just fix the symptoms, but the deeper problem of Sin.

Tags: disease, healing, health, sin