Beyond the Technical Fix
Read Mark 8:22-26
Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” –Mark 8:23-24
A few weeks ago, I shared a few insights on authority from Ron Heifetz’s Leadership Without Easy Answers. Heifetz is best known for coining the term “adaptive leadership.” Here’s how he explains it:
A man has a heart attack. He is rushed to a hospital, and within seconds after his arrival, a whole team of nurses and doctors springs into action. They have trained and prepared for this particular moment, and through their expertise, a triple-bypass is performed, and the man’s life is saved. His heart is “fixed.”
The next day, the surgeon walks into the man’s hospital room and explains to the man the procedure that saved his life. He shows the man an X-ray so that he can see both the blockage and the stents that restored blood flow to his heart. The doctor impresses upon the man how lucky he is to be alive. And then the doctor shares with him the changes he must make in order to care for his heart.
The first intervention requires no participation from the man (except perhaps to pay the medical bill down the road). The leader (a doctor, in this case) knows the exact problem as well as the exact intervention needed to correct it. This is what Heifetz calls a “technical fix.” However, the man is not yet fully healed. In order to become healthy, he must make changes to his lifestyle. The doctor can give counsel and prescribe medication, but only the man himself can make the changes that are necessary. It is an “adaptive challenge.”
Today’s healing story reminds me of Heifetz’s example. While he was in Bethsaida, Jesus encountered a man who was blind. Jesus spread saliva on the man’s eyes (similar to how he’d spit upon the ears of the deaf man previously). But on this occasion, Jesus’ “first healing” was incomplete. The man could see shapes but not details; people looked like “trees” that were walking around. A second healing was needed before the man’s sight was fully restored.
Within Mark’s Gospel, this healing story serves as a “prefigure” to the story which immediately follows—the “Great Confession.” Jesus asked the disciples who they thought he was, and Peter rightly responded that he was the Messiah. Peter saw something that could only be revealed by God. (See Matt 16:17) However, Jesus then began to tell the disciples what would happen to him when he entered Jerusalem—that he would be rejected and killed, and rise again on the third day. Peter objected to this news. While he saw that Jesus was the Messiah, his sight was incomplete. More understanding was needed.
Because the Greek word for “healing” and “salvation” is the same word, we can apply this two-step process to our own salvation. When we confess Jesus as our Lord and invite him into our lives, we are forgiven for our sins. This salvation costs us nothing—Jesus has already paid the price for our sins upon the cross. However, if nothing else changed about our lives, if we just kept on repeating the same mistakes and sins, then our healing would be incomplete.
Thankfully, God’s work in our lives is not through. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, God continues to work in our lives to transform us into the image of Christ. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into Christ’s image from one degree of glory to another. All this comes from the Lord, who is Spirit.” (2 Cor 3:17-18) Our transformation and healing still come through God’s grace, but we have the responsibility to “work out our salvation” (Phil 2:12) and participate in God’s ongoing healing in our lives.
Do not be discouraged that the work is not yet complete. As Paul promised the Philippians, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Christ.” (Phil 1:5) We are all works in progress. But we can give thanks that we never outgrow our need for God’s grace or God’s healing, just as we can give thanks that Jesus will never withhold his healing from those who seek it with all their hearts.
Thank You, God, for the partial “sight” that You have given me. Thank You for the things You have revealed to me about Your love. Continue, O Lord, the work of healing in my life. I look forward to the day when I will no longer see as through a mirror dimly, but will be able at last to see You face to face at last. Amen.