Not many of us get to make some great contribution to medicine like Dr’s. Warren and Marshall in this month’s devotion. But everyday we can to do something in the service of our God that will have meaning for eternity in someone’s life. Now that is significant in the eyes of God. Are you willing to be used by God for this purpose?
We pray God may give us understanding of his purpose for medicine to care for the physically dying and offer hope for the spiritually dead.
Enjoy this month’s devotional from The Doctor’s Life Support published by the International Christian Medical Dental Association.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil 2:5-11
In 1982, the Australian pathologists, Dr. Robin Warren and Dr. Barry Marshall identified Helicobacter pylori as causing gastritis and gastric ulcers. How they confirmed that the organism was the cause of suffering for millions worldwide, is an example of how we can relate as Christians to healthcare and life.
Firstly, Dr. Warren did not take things at face value, nor did he accept the teaching of his predecessors as written in stone. He raised new hypotheses to explain what he was observing. As Christians we need to be prepared to practice from a new paradigm, a paradigm which places importance on faith and prayer in a world where Jesus Christ reigns as LORD. We need to try and incorporate what we observe into our Christian worldview of medicine.
Secondly, Dr. Marshall, by ingesting the bacteria, committed himself to becoming an infected patient from whom biopsies were taken and the pathogens re-isolated. He took on the condition he was trying to cure. As a result of this, a cure for the disease was found. This is a mild reflection of the fact that our God was prepared to become a human in the form of Jesus Christ. He took on our human condition and experienced grief, temptation and pain. However, as a result of his perfect life of obedience and death on the cross, a cure for the world’s most serious ailment, SIN, was achieved.
Dr. Marshall’s gastritis settled in 10-14 days. In contrast, Jesus endured the ultimate in human suffering some 2000 years ago. Yes, he died, but rose again and is alive today. What is more, Jesus is alive in us now as we trust and believe him. With him we live lives which can resist sin.
