Bruderhof Communities wrote:
> Bruderhof wrote:
>
>> It seems to be the first concern of the human spirit that the body
>> quickly become well; whereas, in silence the soul should thank God
>> that, in its illness, the body had more rest than in its
>> health—indeed, that it again feels more life and power than it did in
>> healthy days. But many people become almost angry over such a
>> consolation; they are so unaccustomed to being still and considering
>> their lives that they forcibly push themselves back into the
>> turbulence of activity. Yet precisely in this way do they stand in
>> the way of their own health at the very moment God would put them
>> under spiritual restraint, because he does not want them given over
>> to destruction.
>>
>
> Harm to the body is the judgment upon man’s drivenness of spirit.
> Wretchedness and darkening of the soul are judgments upon the vagabond
> life of the spirit. Therefore, it is im****tant that every sick person
> who knows Christ should not make it his first impatient wish to become
> well... [Rather,] he should first hold back his spirit and tame its
> wildness so that, through the person’s own will, Christ can truly
> receive him and immediately bind him to God and his truth. That is to
> say, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and then
> body and soul will become healthy.
>
Being healthy is, to God, the same as being righteous. A healthy body, no
matter how normal it may be, is not healthy in God’s sight if it is
dragging around in unrighteousness. In this way, stings of death press in
by the thousands; and before they have outward effect, a body that
appears healthy to us can be sick from head to foot, sick unto death.
Righteousness is our health; and the first point of righteousness is that
we allow ourselves to be bound by God so that our spirit no longer
desires its own freedom.
--
Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt
www.blumhardts.com
|
