I have treated patients in Ethiopia, Asia and North America, and know something of the troubles that patients bring to doctors. Here we read that Jesus also attracted many people who sought Him out for healing. Since He is the Son of God, He had the power to heal them — and He did so. But he didn’t treat them without understanding their context. Some were hated, excluded; some wept; many were hungry; others were rich, full and popular. He spoke to them as the Master Physician, not only healing their physical bodies but caring for their souls. He taught them that to enter the kingdom of God they must be empty of their own self-righteousness and self-importance. The basic A,B,C of entering God’s kingdom is recognizing our own spiritual poverty.
“And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all. And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Luke 6:17-20
Do we recognize our own spiritual poverty and trust Jesus? As healers, do we speak to the context of our patients, or only attempt to deal with anatomy and physiology? How do we connect with patients on a soul level?
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