Fixed
We have had a lot of sickness passing through our house the last few weeks, nothing serious, just the typical for a family with little people. Because of that, Peter (age 3) has been doing a lot of talking about being “sick” and getting “fixed.” When Tom was having his turn with the stomach virus, Peter kept telling him to get fixed. He was very concerned that his daddy was sick.
Ever since Peter’s life hung in the balance when he was a newborn, I have known that if he lived, I would spend the rest of his life telling him about the miracle that he is, beginning with his earliest understanding. Sometimes at bedtime, Peter likes to talk with me for a few minutes and I’ve used the opportunity of having a household of sickness to share his story with him. I’ve kept it very basic with no details, just the facts that when he was a baby he was very sick and God healed him. I’ve only told him about this a couple of times because I’ve wanted to be careful not to lay something too heavy on him yet. It’s important for Peter to know his story, but also important that it be on a level he can understand.
Tonight, as we were having our usual few minutes of conversation at bedtime, Peter said, “I was sick and God fixed me.” No one has been sick for awhile and we haven’t talked about this in a few weeks, so obviously what I shared with him has stuck in his head. When he said those words, I was stunned – stunned that he understood so completely, stunned that he remembered, stunned that he has been thinking about it. Most of all though, I was filled with praise to God. To understand being sick and being fixed is basic to the good news of the gospel.
The same can be said of me. I was sick, actually dead – dead in my sins. And my sovereign God fixed me. He gave me new life in Christ.
How about you? Have you been fixed – really and truly fixed? Once dead and now alive in Christ? The course of your life changed completely?
We need the good news of the gospel in our lives every day. We constantly need to be reminded that we were dead in our sin, and then we have been fixed by Christ. This message is not just for the moment of conversion. This is the message that needs to sink deep into our souls. This is the message that makes life worth living. This is the message that should cause us to continue and carry on in faith. This is the message of hope and joy. We were once dead and now alive. Praise be to God!
Even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved. – Ephesians 2:5