There’s a ladder leaning against the wall in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It’s been there since 1728. Regardless of its original purpose, the Status Quo that governs sites in the Holy Land says that it can’t be moved unless all the religious groups with claim to the site agree. For almost 300 years, that hasn’t happened. So the ladder remains.
Essentially, the phrase “status quo” refers to the existing state of affairs. It simply means the way things are. It’s not a judgment on them and it’s not a pronouncement of how they will always be.
While I don’t know if God has any opinion on that ladder in Jerusalem, I don’t think He’s content with the status quo. He isn’t content to leave us as we are. When Jesus healed the lame man by the pool of Bethesda, He said, “Now you are well; so stop sinning” (John 5:14). When He spared the woman caught in adultery, He said, “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11). Jesus’ message to us is not As you were, or Go about your business, but Go and be changed.
Our culture has a tendency to not just admit that we’re flawed, but to embrace brokenness as the natural state of affairs. While it’s true we all make mistakes – “all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23) – it isn’t what we were made for. It doesn’t have to be that way. Because of God’s mercy, things can be different. We’re all broken people, but thanks be to God, we don’t have to stay that way!
What good would it be if Jesus healed our legs but sent us away riddled with cancer?
No, I think what God says He will do is what He intends to do. When He says, “You are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven in perfect” (Matthew 5:48), He’s telling us what the final outcome will be. Towards that end, He’s working in us, removing every trace of the cancer that was our death sentence. He’s getting rid of the things that will only harm us, and He’s encouraging the growth of those things that are life giving.
God’s goal isn’t to get rid of our personality. His objective is to get rid of our sickness.
If we understand that God is a good Father who loves us and has our best interests in mind, we’ll welcome His work in us. We’ll be tired of the status quo. We’ll agree that the change has to be made and we’ll want the ladder taken down. We’ll be done with the things that made us sick, that left us hurting and broken. We’ll eagerly watch for change to take place and do all that we can to stay away from what made us sick in the first place. Not because we can save ourselves, but because once you’ve had cancer, you never want to have anything to do with it again.
Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. Ephesians 3:20