In Need Of Healing

February 17, 2017

Day 48: Healthy People Don't Need A Doctor:
"As Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector's booth.  'Follow me and be my disciple,' Jesus said to him. So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. Later, Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi's fellow tax collectors and other guest also ate with them. But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus' disciples, 'Why do you eat and drink with such scum?' Jesus answered them, 'Healthy people don't need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.'"—Luke 5:27-32

Anderson relates to today's scripture by sharing how he personally feels more fulfilled when he is using his expertise to help those who are really sick and suffering, rather than simply doing the routine checks like wellness visits, physicals for sports, and checks to qualify people for insurance. He feels that those types of visits keep him from devoting time to those who really need him. I can understand why he feels that way, but I also think that those people who come in for wellness checks or for sports or insurance qualifications really need him too. Maybe not as direly, but they still need him. I know he is making an analogy—those who are not sick are like the Pharisees. It's a bit weak, but I get what he means.  Using that analogy was just a way to connect his work as a doctor to the message of the scripture: "Jesus didn't come to celebrate the righteous [the spiritually healthy]; he came to bring healing and redemption to sinners in need of forgiveness." I suppose Anderson feels that he didn't become a doctor to examine people who are well; he became a doctor to serve those who are sick and in great need of healing.

The first step in problem solving is acknowledging that there is a problem.  The same is true with spiritual matters.  "When we seek treatment for our souls, we must first understand that we have a spiritual sickness." If we are like the Pharisees and are self-righteous, "in effect we're saying that we don't need Jesus." If we admit that we are sinners (spiritually sick and in need of healing), Jesus will gladly act as our great physician, healing and redeeming us.

I remember many lessons warning us to not be like the Pharisees—blinded by self-righteous indignation. It seems to me that the attitude of the Pharisees is running rampant through Christianity today and many who are guilty of said attitude are blind to it. All anyone needs to do is read political Facebook comments from professed Christians to see it. There is a difference between righteous anger and belligerence and between venting and vociferating. I'm not saying that all Christians are acting like Pharisees, but there are enough doing so that it is concerning.  I also am not saying that I am free from guilt, but I have always taken being an ambassador for Christ very seriously. I think that is another reason I am so upset with myself for the way I was when I was a member of the Church of Christ. To think I may have pushed people away from God is quite devastating to me, especially since I thought I was doing everything right. I remember being very careful (around my husband especially) to never put the church in a bad light or mention anything about my questioning a church practice or belief. I never voiced my concerns or the extreme pressure I felt. I thought it would put God and his church in a bad light and that would be wrong. So I found the fault in myself. I was being prideful. I was not open to correction. I was begin judgmental...etc.

I still am wary of putting God in a bad light, but I am much more open now when it comes to sharing my faith (doubts and all) with my family, in particular my husband and son, and my friends. I don't have all the answer and I no longer pretend that I do.  I am in need of healing just as much as anybody else.