Medicine and Faith

Matthews 28:18-20 – Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

This is something I shared with my student nurses after they had finished clinical rotations with me! It was such an honor getting to teach them about a job I love then seeing their progression in just a few weeks. It was also an even greater honor to encourage them in their personal walks with Christ.

When reading this, don’t think this applies only to those in the medical field because ALL of us have opportunities to witness to people no matter what we do (military, police officers, desk workers, waiters, students, etc). Healthcare workers just happen to deal with sick people and their families on a day-to-day basis, and this makes our ministry opportunities unique to this field . Enjoy!

For the longest time, I thought when it came to ministry, only people behind the pulpit or leading a bible study were the only ones who had the credentials to preach the Gospel. Now I understand that we are ALL called to share the Gospel! As a nurses they have a great chance to minister to a wide variety of people! You are Salt and Light because of Jesus working through you! I think the Message version of Matthew 5 best conveys this idea best.

Matthew 5:13-16 (The Message)

13 “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”

Faith of a Child

Matthew 18:1-5 (NLT)

 About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”  Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.”

One night at work, my friend Matt shared a story about something powerful that had happened in his home recently. His little girl, Madeline (age 3), had Fifth Disease (For those who aren’t medically-sound, Fifth disease affects children and will often present with a low-grade fever, headache, mild cold symptoms like a stuffy nose, and/or a rash) and had been having a rough time with it. He and his wife had been praying for her constantly during this time and she just wasn’t getting better. One night while getting the kids ready for bed, his wife, Jess, was holding little Madeline while his little boy, Matt (age 5), lay in his bed. Randomly, little Matt gets up, walks over to his sister , and just starts praying over her. . .just a simple prayer like, “Jesus please help my little sister feel better”. After he prayed, he crawled back in his bed and went to sleep. When papa Matt came in the room, his wife was in tears. When he asked what happened, Jess told him about his son praying for his sister BUT the miraculous thing was Jess watched as this poor girl’s rash disappeared (over a 60 second period) and she started feeling much better. The next day, Matt was talking to his son about what happened the night before (praying and his sister being healed) just beaming about how proud he was that he even prayed for her. He then said,” Jesus healed her’!  His son nonchalantly says, “Yeah, I know”. Then he zips up his jacket and walks out the room.

When I heard this story, I was pretty blown away not just about this little child praying and the little girl being healed but about this child’s faith. It really got me thinking about what it was like as a child (I encourage everyone who reads this to do the same). Think of something you believed in when you were little. . .for me, I automatically jumped to Santa Claus! I remember writing the letters every year, trying to be good year round especially after Thanksgiving to make sure I didn’t get a lump of coal, leaving out milk and cookies on Christmas Eve for him, and getting up at 6 am Christmas morning to see what he brought (which I’m sure my parents loved!). I say all this to make the point that there was never any need for any real evidence that he did or didn’t exist for me to believe. I didn’t need the NORAD Santa Tracking system, read blogs or papers justifying an existence of Santa, or even physically see the jolly man appear in front of me at my house with his gifts. . .I just believed!

Then it hit me! This is the type of faith Jesus was talking about in Matthew 18. This was the faith my friend’s son showed when he prayed for his sister! Then another reality hit me. . . why don’t I believe like that? Do you have that type of faith? Or, like me, do you hash-tag your prayers? “God I pray for (insert request here) . . . but if it’s not your will, I’m okay with that. #god’swill.

What would happen if we had this child-like faith when we prayed? What if we just believed that Christ was Lord?! Without the need for sermons, hearing stories about miracles others have seen, scientific data supporting the existence of God, or archeological findings showing that Jesus walked among us. . .just the Bible and the Holy Spirit in you!

Many will think “faith like a child” means being completely naïve to the world around us but I’m beginning to think it’s not naiveté but purity is what this means! As we grow-up, we become more aware of the world and what it has to offer. We become smarter and start to rationalize why or how things work. I’m not knocking the need for this growth but when it comes to our relationship with Christ, he wants that purity exhibited by children like Matt.