Title: Lord, Heal This Land
Contents
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The earth that God created was the source of life, and it was a beautiful world in God's eyes. God took care of this world through people, took care of it, lived together, and made a world full of God's will. However, the world God created is getting more painful and groaning day by day. It is the result of taking the lead in forgetting and undermining this mission of humans. Faced with this reality, our general assembly decided to set the motto, “Lord, heal this land!”
This declaration is a declaration to realize the seriousness of God's created world and to fulfill the mission for restoration. It is a declaration that we Christians must realize the seriousness of the destruction of the earth and work to restore this earth. And these things have the characteristic of being able to be completely accomplished from the healing of our human hearts. The root cause of all the crises before us is the crisis that comes from an incorrect relationship with God. This is because human arrogance and greed to rise to the throne of God eventually led to this crisis. And God's creation order must be restored.
This declaration is a declaration that the recovery of our people must be done next. It means that efforts for spiritual and physical healing, including restoration of human dignity in this age, must be made together. Anthropology understands people as ‘multidimensional entities’. In other words, we do not separate the body, mind, and soul, but think of them as interconnected physical, psychological, and spiritual dimensions. This understanding means that even in healing, the whole (holistic) healing must be achieved without separating the human body and soul. Then, what kind of healing should be done for the holistic healing of our human beings? Both dimensions of healing must occur simultaneously.
The first is physical, psychological, spiritual, and dimensional healing of human beings. Such healing refers to healing in which physical and mental healing are combined. The reason that our body becomes ill is because there are many diseases that arise from the mental and spiritual dimensions of human beings, not just diseases that come from the harmonization of our bodies. According to a recent study by British scholars, the more people who experience love, the more immune they are to catch a cold, and a study in the United States proved that physical contact relieves stress and normalizes blood pressure and pulse. Things that mean that the cure of our disease must be holistic.
The second is the healing of natural or structural social ailments. As the cause of our human suffering, this part occupies an important place. There are people who suffer from serious illness even though they are not physically ill, and the reason for this can be found in social structural causes. Therefore, the characteristic of Jesus' healing ministry was that he not only healed diseases, but also looked at the pain of those who were hurt by structural problems. He even proclaimed the forgiveness of his sins in order to recover from the pain caused by the sins that came from his wrong relationship with God. It was because there were many sick people due to the social and structural problems of that time.
Saints! Let's stand firmly as missionaries who carry out the mission of restoring this land.