For tonight’s Christmas devotional we wanted to impress on our kids that good health is a gift from God.
This year has not been an easy one when it comes to health issues. The babies have had recurring and currently un-diagnosed high fevers. The boys found out about a number of food allergies. Trisha continues to deal with thyroid issues. There have been many doctor visits and many prayers for healing.
Despite this we wanted to highlight for our kids how God has spared us many health problems and continued to heal us.
To kickstart the devotional time we had the kids open a present under the tree with a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff inside. (Trisha owned this already because she worked as a nurse aid for a time.) The kids had a lot of fun listening to their own and each others’ heart beats.
After this we told a series of stories from Matthew 8 about Jesus’ many healings: the healing of the leper (Matthew 8:1-3), the Centurion’s servant (Matthew 8:5-6,13), and Peter’s mother-in-law (Matthew 8:14-15). We wanted to show the power and compassion of Christ.
From there we read the following story in Matthew 8:16-17: the healing of the multitude. We pointed out to the boys that Matthew quotes from Isaiah 53 to help us understand Jesus’ healing ministry. “This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.'” In his work on the cross, Jesus would take not just the guilt of our sin upon Himself; he would take the curse of our fallen world as well. Some day Jesus will come back to restore the whole world and there will be no more crying or pain or death. Until then, like those who experienced Jesus’ earthly ministry, we get foretastes of that world to come. Sometimes we experience God’s mercy in healing. Sometimes we do not. But we can be thankful God has promised complete healing.
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