Our son Benjamin is in the final year of his nursing degree. He is very interested in working in the operating room. In particular he likes orthopedic surgery. The best day of his clinical training was when he was present for a hip replacement – I’ve never seen him so excited about his schooling.
He also has some interest in volunteering to provide medical care to people in developing countries. We have a close friend in a global medical NGO who has indicated he could help facilitate a connection for Benjamin to be able to do this.
First things first though, he needs to graduate with his Bachelor of Nursing degree and start caring for people. His desire to do “bring healing” came about in a very unusual way…
We were in Costa Rica on a special family vacation. We were staying in an open air bamboo cottage surrounded by the wonders of the Costa Rican rain forest. On this particular day Anne and I went out for a short walk and left the boys to themselves to seek out whatever adventure any 13 and 14 year old boy could find in an area resplendent with howler monkeys, tamanduas, coatis, poison tree frogs and the like.
Anne and I were blissfully unaware of what they were up to, probably assuming they were inside the cottage laying low. However, they did not lie low, but went exploring. In their explorations they found a ravine. Over that ravine they found a rope swing. David tested it out by swinging over the ravine. The rope broke and he fell to the bottom where he tangled up in some old barbed wire.
Benjamin sprang into action, scrabbled down the ravine, hauled David up, ran back to the cottage to fetch the first aid kit, raced back, and proceeded to patch up David’s wounds like a boss. His desire to bring healing to others was born that day on edge of an equatorial rain forest ravine.
His medical aspirations have grown and been refined over the years, but that is the story of its genesis.
What would you think if Benjamin said he wanted to provide medical care to healthy people? You would probably think something was wrong – right? He doesn’t quite understand. It’s the sick who need a doctor, not healthy people.
Apparently the religious leaders of Jesus’ day didn’t quite understand this. They wondered why Jesus was hanging out with “sinners”. Jesus said that it wasn’t the healthy who need a doctor, it’s the sick. He came to call “sinners” to repentance.
It is actually our sin that qualifies us for the grace, mercy and forgiveness of God. If we did not sin we would not need the forgiveness of God. However, scripture tells us that anyone who thinks they are without sin is in error – everybody sins and falls short of the standards of God. We are all sick. We all sin.
Jesus came calling all sinners. Sin is like a cancer that steals our life – it leads to death. Sin ensures we live outside of God’s life for us – which is death. It’s not how we were created to live. Sin is really choosing to do life my way, not God’s way.
But Jesus came for sinners. Recognizing we sin; recognizing we fall short of that for which God created us qualifies us to receive the forgiveness Jesus purchased for us on the cross. Your sin does not disqualify you from the life of God, it actually qualifies you for the forgiveness of God – which leads to new life in Him.
The only thing that will disqualify you is arrogance. Arrogance will prohibit you from acknowledging your sin and your need for the forgiveness of God. And, therefore, you will miss the life God has for you and for others through you.
Let’s boldly confess our sin to the Lord and our need for His forgiveness that we may receive the life He offers us. Jesus came calling all sinners – we qualify!
Mark 2:17
“Jesus said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’”
Romans 3:23
“ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
1 John 1:8, 9
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”