Salvation vs. Healing

If I'm a Christian, shouldn't I be immediately healed of all my sins? Shouldn't I be free? Why can't I stop doing all those things I don't want to do?

Paul talks about this very thing in Romans 7, so if Paul is wondering about this, it's ok for us to wonder too. But I can't help but wonder if it's because we have confused two very different things.

Salvation

Salvation is a work of the Holy Spirit, that is, it is a work of God. It is instantaneous in that at the moment we confess with our lips and believe in our hearts that Jesus Christ is Lord, we are forgiven of all our sins and made righteous before God.

Sound familiar? Good.

Healing is completely different. Healing takes time. Healing is both an act of God and an act of man, which is to say, it takes effort on the part of the man.

Pretend there's a soldier, and he is greviously wounded on the battlefield. He is rushed to the MASH unit where field surgeons race against time to staunch the bleeding, racing against time to save limbs, save his life. In the end the surgeon saves the soldier's life, and the soldier returns home.

Is this the end of his story? Hardly. Does he return to everyday life, completely normal, like nothing has happened? Of course not. Now comes the soldier's work: he might have to learn how to walk again, use his hands again, regain strength in previously shattered limbs. He may even have to learn how to live without the use of his right hand, his left leg, both legs. His eyesight. In short, this will take months, if not years, of physiotherapy. He has to do the work. He can't just go to a church, sit in a pew and say, "Alright God, heal me!" It rarely ever works that way.

Healing from sex addiction works in a very similar manner. Like the soldier, our initial saving is not of us: we just are there, hoping, begging to be saved. And like the soldier, our healing and rehabilitation requires work on our part, effort, will, courage, perseverance, mindfulness. First off, the addict needs to want to change. Secondly, he or she needs to be prepared to work for it. They cannot just sit back and expect someone else to do the work. They will only get out what they put in. They need to be engaged. They need to be motivated. They need to be prepared to work. They need to be honest. They need, for the first time in their life, to be vulnerable with others, especially their spouse if they hope to salvage their marriage.

Too often we come into counselling expecting to hear something, to be told something, taught something, that will instantly change us without any effort on our part, and sadly, that just isn't the case.

Healing from sexual addiction is a two to five year journey. Two to five years, with, as Dr. Ted likes to say, a miracle every day. This is not a quick fix. This is not something you just 'get over.' This is the journey of a thousand miles, and you need to walk each and every step.

So if you're at the beginning of your healing journey, be prepared for a long one. You'll need to do a lot of work, and not just reading, not just listening. You will need to practice emotional mindfulness, recognizing triggers, running from temptation, making calls, journalling, as well as reading, listening, engaging, being present, learning to turn into the things that hurt, learning to accept the pain that you have caused, practicing being vulnerable, being honest at all costs, making calls. Have I mentioned making calls?

That's another blog entry.