James 5:14–15 asks, “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.”
It’s important to note that this Greek word for sick is astheneō. It means to be weak or deficient in strength, to doubt, hesitate, be unsettled, or timid. It’s a much more encompassing concept than physical sickness. The word can mean a person has a weak faith or a weak conscience. It can refer to a person who is weary or has grown morally or spiritually weak. This broader definition makes sense when we hear James’s instruction to call the elders to anoint the person with oil and pray over them. Then we reach these great words in James 5:16: “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
That’s what true relationship looks like. I don’t know about you, but there are times in my life when I sin and confess it to God, but the shame and guilt still plague me. God has certainly forgiven the sin, but fellowship with God still feels broken. When I confess my sin to trusted people, they minister to me and remind me that God is forgiving and separates me from my sin as far as the east is from the west. That’s the power of togetherness at work. As mature Christians, we know God primarily speaks through His Word, yet sometimes His message comes best through other believers. A parallel passage, 1 Thessalonians 5:14, tells us to “encourage the disheartened” and “help the weak.”
When I confess my sin to others, they can remind me that God is forgiving and separates me from my sin as far as the east is from the west. That’s the power of togetherness at work. #discipleship Share on XAs I write this book, my wife and I are in the process of selling a house and buying another. If you’ve ever done that, you know how stressful and unsettling it can be. Added to that, there has been increased craziness at the church and I have not been sleeping well. The other evening my son Christian and his wife, Kiela, were hanging out with my wife and me. I grew tired and went to bed early.
A few minutes passed, then my son came into my bedroom and said, “Dad, can I talk to you for a minute? I am a little worried about you. I’ve been noticing that you and Mom are not getting along very well right now. You’ve been pretty irritable with her. Are you okay? Is all this pressure getting to you? There must be something going on, this isn’t like you. Do you want to talk about it?”
My son and I have the type of relationship where we tell each other what’s truly going on. I was able to confess that I had been overworking and not trusting Jesus enough. We talked for a while, and then he asked if he could pray for me. I said yes, and the prayer was healing and restorative. The next morning I got the opportunity to ask my wife for forgiveness.
Imagine that—my son wasn’t calling me out, he was calling me up. Calling someone out can be judgmental and embarrasses them, but humbly reminding people who they are in Christ and coming alongside to help them calls them up to Christ.
Calling someone OUT can be judgmental and embarrassing, but humbly reminding people who they are in Christ and coming alongside to help calls them UP to Christ. #discipleship Share on XThis is exactly what James is talking about. My son didn’t judge or condemn me. His intention was to help me and my wife; I had been stressed and hadn’t even noticed that I’d been sharp with her. But the Bible says the “wounds from a friend can be trusted” (Prov. 27:6). Real spiritual maturity is us knowing and loving others and others knowing and loving us too.
Excerpt taken from The Power Of Together by Jim Putman
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