2025-07-25
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Because I am the daughter of a doctor, have volunteered in a hospital, and have studied science in my undergraduate years at university, I have been around people who revere the saving of human lives in jeopardy. That is wired into my DNA. I chose not to become a doctor because God had another set of tasks for me to do. But the healing sciences of medicine and the preservation of human life, including quality of that life matters tremendously to God and to me. That’s why we should consider the qualities of patience in affliction, encouragement, loving care, and healing are more ways to honor God. We must remember, GN 1: 27, “So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.” I’ve often written: “It doesn’t make any logical sense that God would hate people, since they are created by Him in His own image.” So, what has gone wrong with some people who feel hated or subscribe to evildoing that doesn’t revere preserving life?
That hugely important question can’t be answered completely by a simplistic answer. As the time of my lifespan (81 years) has gone by, I have observed there are people who have less interest in the good of the whole and increasing interest in their individual agendas. That doesn’t conform to God’s teaching from RO 12: 4-5, “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” It’s hard to think of “belonging to” people whose sole goal is to exterminate you! The missing link in such evildoers arises from rejection of the teachings the Lord has given us in the Scriptures. God wants us to worship Him alone and as told us as much in EX 20: 1-6 from the Ten Commandments.
Because we, in the body of Christ, subscribe to God’s teachings, we have elevated doctors, nurses, and other healers in our society. They, too, are human beings with challenges that they must overcome. Clergy try to help but only God can do so effectively. I remember the night my father came home after working tirelessly to save an ill man from the ravages of his disease. The man passed away, and my father could no longer hold back his tears. Trained clergy listen patiently to people’s problems and try to be encouraging while remaining grounded in the Scriptures. But even the burden on them becomes unbearable at times. Their need is to turn to our Lord’s words, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and My burden is light” [MT 11: 28-30].
A veterinarian came to me and put her head in her hands. She was part of a very full practice that took on both large and small animals. Her problem was one patient would come in and die from injuries in an auto accident and she would have to put the animal down because it couldn’t be saved. Then, another patient would come in with an animal that needed a routine vaccination still carrying her own sadness from the previous patient. She knew it wasn’t kind to dump her grief on the second patient’s family. That’s hard and people in the healing arts, whether it’s for humans or animals, must deal with it. I encouraged the veterinarian to pray with me, knowing that visiting the “shelter beneath God’s wings” [PS 91: 1-2] is a habit that has saved me from be crushed by my own troubles many times. Making that a habit conforms to God’s will. He loves us and wants us to pray often and watch for His wisdom and replies [COL 4: 2; PHIL 4: 6; 1 THESS 5: 16-18]. God wants us to realize He loves us, and we are not alone.
PRAYER: O Lord, you have asked us to: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” in MT 5: 44. That is so hard to do, but it is God’s will. That, coupled with a willingness to “lay down one’s life for one’s friends” as Jesus did for us [JN 15: 13] are measures of our faith. Today and always, we pledge our faith in You with the hope that we can show mercy, compassion, reverence for life, and be encouragers. Under difficult circumstances, we will try never to give up or to allow evildoers to affect our ways of living. We offer You our love and devotion, our praise and thanksgiving, for always inviting us to the “shelter under Your wings” and wanting to be there for us when we pray. We shall try to pray often for self and others, knowing that You care about the human condition. These things we say in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The tasks of a pastor, minister, priest, rabbi, cantor--the clergy in general-- are not only one day a week. They are another way to worship God, and that will be the subject of next week’s devotion. Before leaving the healing arts, I urge each of us to pray that medical research won’t be slowed significantly or cut off altogether. Human and animal lives depend on it. No war, group of sentient beings who are evildoing political activists, epidemics or other health disaster, can change the need for advances in medical research or delivery of care. The Hebrew translation in GN 1: 27 for God is plural, a reference to God’s Trinitarian nature. Those of us who receive the Holy Spirit will want to be merciful and care about the wellbeing of others and self. Nothing escapes God’s notice [HE 4: 12-13]; He is the Soul of truth. Remember, 1 JN 1: 7, “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.” Praise and thanksgiving be to Him!
Grace be with You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2025. All Rights Reserved.
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