Healer... Live in the Light

The other night I saw the breaking news story on CNN International about the pastor in Australia who has done the hard thing and come clean with the truth. His body was being wracked with some illness that was eating away at him. For two years he'd convinced people that he was dying of cancer. He'd even written a song about having faith in the One who could heal him, called "Healer." His story and that song inspired so many.

Now the testimony that once inspired so many has now brought many of those same people to disillusionment. As we all know now, it was not cancer that was ravaging him. It was sin. Such was the power and the shame of that particular sin that he kept it well hidden, in the darkest places of his heart, and went to extraordinary measures to keep it out of the light.

That was the part of the story that stood out to me and is the focus of this blog. His story illustrates so tragically, so painfully, the power of sin and the importance of living in the light.

There are consequences to his coming clean. Sin never is just about us... it hurts others, and many people are now hurt, angry and feeling betrayed by his deception. Many people will struggle with forgiving him and not holding on to the anger or bitterness. I wonder if he too will struggle with forgiving himself? After watching an interview, it's not clear what finally motivated him to come clean, but one thing's for sure, he's living in the light now, facing it all. And that's the thing: since it IS now out in the light, healing CAN happen.

When I first heard about this I thought: "Well, God has answered peoples prayers and is indeed bringing him healing... though just not in the way that we/they all thought He would." By coming clean and bringing the sin out into the light, or rather letting the light shine into the dark places, the sin and shame no longer have power over him and he can be healed.

Now this brings me to the song. Much has been said about pulling it, that it's a fostering of a lie... yet I respectfully disagree. Sure, when I first listened to it, I couldn't help but taste the bitterness of the lie that stood behind it publicly. But then I listened to it again.... and I heard the desperate cry of a man, who knows he's sinned greatly and needs a Healer. I believe that song perhaps came from the most honest part of his heart. A cry of faith at it's deepest for his Savior to heal him, to set him free from that sin that so entangled him.

Something about that cry must resonate in our own heart. For I wonder how many of us have lived where that pastor did, putting on a public mask, hiding from others in our struggle against sin, living a double life, burdened by guilt and shame? How many of us are there now? When faced with our sin, don't we too cry out, "Oh Lord! Heal me! Please set me free!" What about those who can't even bring themselves to pray for the weight of the guilt and shame of having failed again... and when they do finally turn to their Healer all they can get out is, "Lord, please.... please help me." In that song I hear the baseline of those cries and faith that placed firmly in the One who saves and yet in the melody there is also the tone of victory sounded out in great promise for He has set us free!

There is such freedom that comes as we let the Light shine into the dark places of our heart. Yes, it is painful. Yes, there are consequences. But it's so worth it to break free from the bonds of sin and shame that would hold us in darkness rather than in the Light.

I believe there's a challenge to each of us in this. First of all, are we truly walking in the light? In humility and repentance, honest with ourselves and God that we are "ragamuffins" (to use a Manning term) and trusting Him to complete what He's begun in us. Then, do we have someone with whom we can be real? Accountable? Someone who will pray with us through those struggles? Are you such a person? Are you a safe place for another, where they can be real with you?

If you don't have such a person in your life I strongly encourage you to pray the Lord bring such a person into your life, that you find one. Frankly, I'm very grateful for two ladies with whom I can be completely honest about everything. They challenge me, encourage me, pray for me as well as keep me accountable. I can't begin to express what a blessing it is to have them walking with me... and I pray for you such equal blessing.

Let us be such encouragements to one another, that we may all live in the light and in freedom.

My heartfelt prayers for the pastor, his family and the congregation... indeed for all those who've walked a similar path. May the Lord bring them healing and restoration.