Have you noticed we live in a broken world? Yeah, I know — you’ve noticed! It’s hard to miss. Just watch the news.
Or look up the Google search trends for 2025: anger, gun violence, bullying, war, homelessness, debt, inflation,
immigration, trafficking, racial division, and on and on.
No wonder we struggle with anxiety!
And it’s not just “them.” It’s also us. Our families. Our church families. Every human living in this sin-cursed world. This desperation gives the church an opportunity to shine a beacon of hope. In a 2023 Barna survey, 40% of non-Christians indicated they look to the church to meet physical needs and provide counseling and care. In other words, they see the church as a hospital.
And they’re right. Consider the ministry of Jesus: healing; restoration; compassion for the marginalized, outcasts, diseased, addicted, and oppressed. He healed people physically to heal them spiritually. He met the woman at the well, ate with tax collectors and sinners, touched lepers, restored sight. He met felt needs to meet their deepest need — spiritual healing in Him.
In Luke 4:16-20, in Jesus’ first “sermon,” He identified His ministry with words from Isaiah. He came to heal, free, and anoint. He came for a broken world. And the same Spirit who empowered Isaiah’s words, who approved and was active in Jesus’ earthly ministry, still empowers the church today. To do what?
Preach good news to the poor. This word preach, or more literally proclaim, eventually became our English word evangelize. In this context, I think Jesus described the spiritually poor. Those needing the gospel. And who is that? Everyone. Without Jesus, we have nothing.
Proclaim freedom to the imprisoned. Those bound by guilt, shame, pride, corruption, legalism, confusion, grief, addictions. Those trapped by sin. Our world. Do you recall Galatians 5:1 where Paul reminded the Galatians Christ had set them free, not to return to slavery? The church should be a place to be set free!
Proclaim sight to the blind (proclaim healing). Jesus offered physical healing enroute to spiritual healing. How does the church live this out today? In hospitals and nursing homes; to the terminally ill and their caregivers; through pregnancy centers, foster care, and orphan care (James 1:27).
Free the oppressed. Here, I believe Jesus described those oppressed by spiritual bondage. Certainly, I acknowledge the validity of seeking freedom for both the spiritually and physically oppressed in the ministry of the church (reflected in the rich history of Free Will Baptists). However, we must remember the eternal priority and not lose the best in pursuit of the good.
Proclaim ultimate healing. I love the phrase, “The Year of God’s Favor.” For Isaiah, it was the promise of eventual freedom for Jewish captives in Babylon; for Jesus, fulfilling the prophecy of the coming Messiah; for us, it is the reminder, one day, this broken world will be healed. That’s the ultimate healing the church offers. Not perfection. Not the latest songs or even great sermons. The church offers hope — the hope of Christ, who gave Himself for us and who redeemed us as His people. Hope beyond suffering. Hope beyond the grave. Hope for eternity with Him.
Eighteen months ago, when the casket closed at my dad’s funeral, I was utterly broken. But our church stepped in. They packed the funeral home. They stood beside us quietly at the graveside. They offered words of encouragement, casseroles, cards, texts, emails, and even offered to mow my mother’s grass. Their presence and concern reminded us we don’t grieve without hope. In those hard moments, the church healed us with the hope of the gospel.
About the Columnist: Eric K. Thomsen has been the managing editor of ONE Magazine since 2005. He is the worship leader at Bethel FWB Church near Ashland City, Tennessee, where he and his wife Jennifer also teach a college and young career Sunday School class.
