ARE YOU IN REMISSION?

Disease, did you do something to get it? Maybe, maybe not: alcohol destroys, smoking kills, lousy diets wipe out healthy bodies. The list of creative ways we bring the destruction of disease upon ourselves is endless. You might live a healthy life and still get hit with a debilitating visitation. Either way, I feel for you and right now I will pause and pray for you.

"God, thank you for all of the pain free smiles in my life. Thank you for the people who have taken the time to read about remission. You have made new mercies in all of our lives. Thank you for the remission and healing that you have already provided. I'm asking you for more God. Please touch all of the people who read this. Give them a glimpse of peace through eyes that may be pained and blurry with tears. Please provide hope and understanding of your will for their lives. You have a purpose for everything under heaven and we don't understand. Please heal the emotional, physical and spiritual wounds of your children.  You have given us a new covenant which includes remission. Please help us to understand remission. Help us to love each other unconditionally as you love us. Amen."  

What is Remission?

I like to do word studies, they provide a depth of understanding about the original meaning of a word. Etymology is the study of words, their origination and how their meanings have changed over time. Here is what the Online Etymology Dictionary says about remission:

 remission (n.) early 13c., "forgiveness or pardon (of sins)," from Old French remission, from Latin remissionem (nominative remissio) "relaxation, a sending back," noun of action from past participle stem of remittere "slacken, let go, abate" (see remit). Used of diseases since c.1400.

I first read about the word remission in the Bible. Jesus used it and his words were recorded in Matthew 26:27 when he referred to the "remission of sins." In an astounding sequence, Jesus moves from betrayal to blessing. First he is betrayed by a friend and then sits down and has a meal with some other friends. He asks God to bless their meal. His prayer leads to a blessing that is a metaphor pointing toward his soon to be broken body and his shed blood. Here is the sequence of events as it appears in Matthew 26:25-28:

Matthew 26:25-28

King James Version

²⁵ Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.
²⁶ And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
²⁷ And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
²⁸ For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Embrace Brokenness 

Is your body broken now? Have you been shedding blood? Has a friend betrayed you? Brokenness is a good friend of remission. You cannot have remission without brokenness. You cannot grow into new life without brokenness. A visit to the gym will demonstrate that truth fairly quickly. Muscle tissue that has been damaged and traumatized through resistance must be repaired. That's the process of weightlifting that actually increases muscle mass. The increase in muscle is dependent upon proper rest and nutritional intake. The key point here is to embrace brokenness as a way of life. Right now, you might be whole or you might be broken, one thing we know for sure: everyone will eventually experience brokenness.

Once upon a time, a lady broke an alabaster flask of fragrant oil and poured it over the head of Jesus. It's another interesting sequence of events that occurs just before Jesus is betrayed; Enemies are planning to kill Jesus,  he is anointed, his friends grumble about waste and his other buddy is meeting behind his back with enemies plotting his betrayal. Here is how it is recorded in Matthew 26:1-9:

The Plot to Kill Jesus

26 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, ² “You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”

³ Then the chief priests, the scribes,^[a] and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, ⁴ and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him. ⁵ But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”

The Anointing at Bethany

⁶ And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, ⁷ a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. ⁸ But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? ⁹ For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.”
¹⁰ But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. ¹¹ For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. ¹² For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. ¹³ Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

So here is your life according to Matthew 26:

1. Something or someone is planning to kill you.
2. Someone anoints or prays for you.
3. Your friends complain that the anointing or prayer wasn't proper.
4. Another friend betrays you.
5. You have dinner (your last meal) with friends and bless them. 

Death is inevitable. New life can be inevitable if you chose to embrace it. Let's look at your life another way using those same 5 events. Your body is the alabaster flask. In the old days, people stored their most valuable ointments in the best material available. God chose to put his Holy Spirit in your body, his best material. The alabaster flask is perishable as is your body. Only God knows when your final breath will be. It would be a good idea to be ready right now. Here's how you can be ready right now:

Admit that you have committed sin (immoral acts.) Believe that Jesus died for your sins.You can change your habits, that's called repentance.  Believe that Jesus rose from the dead. Believe that you will live a new life as you change your habits. Lay your life down so God can raise you up into an imperishable immortality in heaven.

You know that death will eventually happen. Evil is real and would love to take you out of life's race with a lie. Even if you are currently terminal and facing physical death soon, you have life. If you are fading quickly and you cannot focus through the pain, just remember one word: Blood. The power of life and death is in the Blood of Jesus. "Pleading the Blood" of Jesus is a way of covering yourself with eternal life, eternal healing and eternal protection from evil. It is very possible that the act of believing in the Blood will cure your current physical ailment no matter how far gone you think you are. Keep seeking God and his answers.

Breaking the alabaster flask or your body is an act of yielding your whole, body, mind, soul and strength to God. What pours out of your alabaster flask is repentance. When you pour the oil of your repentance over Jesus head, you are anointing his body for burial. The metaphor is about burying your sins as he was buried. He died for your sins and carried them into the grave so they would die and you would live. After the burial of your sins through belief in Jesus death and resurrection, you will experience the remission of sin without any penalties. Jesus paid the fine and you go free. Make your last meal the Body and Blood of Christ. Nobody knows when their last meal will be, eat well.

If you keep following the events in Matthew 26, you will find that Jesus asked God to take his suffering away. He also accepted the plan that God had for his life. The acceptance was painful and what happened to him devastated friends and family. Eventually the fruit of his life became an eternal story that will not die. His excruciating pain became exultant joy as he conquered death. What's your eternal story? Are you writing your story, speaking your testimony or recording what God is revealing through your trials? It may be that God's will and his plan for your life include being a positive role model for folks seeking remission. Ask God what he would like you to reveal. Break your alabaster flask and pour out your dreams. Pour the oil of your repentance over the head of Jesus. Plead the Blood of Jesus over your circumstances. May the God of new mercies grace you with the strength to run your race with perseverance.

Thanks for your time. Jesus loves you and so do we.