Kathy Hanson has a guest post at the blog Dream Awakener on the question of whether the way we live, or the things we believe and say, ought to be paramount for Christians.
Her post leads me to reflect on the fact that Jesus, for the most part, particularly in the earliest stories told about him, does not use healing people or exorcisms as an opportunity for doctrinal instruction. He never tells them “four things God wants you to know”, never gives them a tract as they depart.
To the extent that Christians are committed to following Jesus’ example, we ought to reflect seriously on this point. Perhaps it is not only unnecessary to always explain that one’s concern is motivated by Christian faith and to explain that faith. Perhaps, by introducing an ulterior motive, we actually undermine our ability to help people. For in many cases it is entirely possible that what was crucial to setting people free was Jesus’ concern for them, his touching of the untouchable. Might it not be that, if we make our touch a stepping stone to preaching or doctrinal instruction, we actually undermine the power that is present when we regard helping someone as an end in itself – and regard that someone as valuable in their own right?
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