Christians Get Sick?

I sometime wonder about believers who thing that dedicated Christians should never get sick. Sometimes I hear that I am being punished for some sort of sin in my life, or that I do not have enough faith. This kind of criticism is often more hurtful than the physical pain itself.

Where do we get this idea that Christians should not get sick? It certainly is not scriptural... Look at the life of Paul for example. He writes of illness in many of his letters. He mentions Timothy's stomach problems and other ailments, he talks about his friend Epaphroditus who was sick and almost died. Paul himself had a thorn in his flesh, which most theologians believe was some type of illness.

We live in a fallen world, things are not perfect here; and that includes our bodies.

The questions should be:

How do we see illness through the eyes of faith?

Where is God to be found in the experience of illness?

The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8:28 that God can bring good out of any situation:

Romans 8:28-29 (New International Version) 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Surely then, God can bring good out of the brokenness of physical illness. Illness can teach us humility, it reminds us of our physical limitations. It helps us understand that we are not going to live forever, and that we need to make best of the short time we have on this earth. We can learn and grow so much through illness.

We live in the land of the dying, and then when we pass from this life, we go to the land of the living.