Healing

I'm grateful for the scriptures. They've been a life line to me so many times throughout my life.

When I come across scriptures that talk about healing, that grabs my attention.

Today was one of those days as I was reading Christ's words of invitation after His resurrection and came accross the word "heal":

"Will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you? Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me."  3 Nephi 9:13-14

Of all the wonderful names and ways to refer to Christ, the one I'm especially grateful for tonight is "Healer". Christ has the power to heal us temporally and spiritually. This is beautifully portrayed in Mark 2:5-12:
 
"When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?

"And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?

"But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.

"And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God."

I'm grateful that Christ is able to heal me from sin and I'm also grateful that He is able to raise me from my temporal beds of affliction as well.
 
Talitha is too young to be accountable and so has not yet experienced healing from sin. But she has been the beneficiary of Christ’s power to physically heal, lift, and support us through sickness. Just as in the story above with the man who suffered from both sin and the palsy, the healing of the body and the healing of the spirit often go hand in hand and can be mutually supportive of one another.
 
Whatever the healing may be, it testifies of Christ's power and love and tends to bend our eyes and affections heavenward to the source of all life and light.