Our Treasure in this Pandemic
It’s always interesting to see what staff and patients think of us when we inform them that we’re moving on to a new role. The responses may vary from sadly transactional ones, “Well, who do I see now?!” to unperturbed comments such as “All the best OK ...” to pleasing feedback for the impact we’ve made on them. As Christians, even though it’s natural to yearn appreciation from others, we are regularly reminded that we only be interested in what God thinks of us, an audience of One (Colossians 3:23). I would add however that as Christian health professionals, we should be also interested in showing God’s love to others as well as what they think of Him with our whole person care of our patients and indeed witnessing to our staff colleagues.
In turning one day to my devotion on Matthew 14, I glanced across Matthew 13:44 which compares the kingdom of heaven to a treasure found by a man who swiftly proceeds to sell all his possessions in order to buy the field that it’s located in. Rather than sell the treasure in order to purchase an array of items, he remarkably sells everything to purchase that one treasure. Now by nature I’m a generalist, working as a primary care giver in general practice enjoying the broad array of clinic work, aged care visitations, sports medicine occasionally and intermittent after hours, though at the risk of being master of none! We are likewise taught by society to broaden our involvement, safeguarding ourselves against losses and hurt in our diversifying be it in investments, our free time/hobbies, different kinds of food we eat, even encouraged to have a variety of friendships, so as to absorb the hurt or damage any one part or component may cause us. Biblically though, we are challenged to consolidate all we have into one treasure, daunting as it is (think choosing a spouse or house or job), to have this determine the course of our lives.
A Christian surgeon was operating in a war zone on a soldier who had been shot in the neck with the local doctor as first assistant. The next day the local doctor took him aside and explained that the patient sadly had died overnight because the ventilator had stopped working once the diesel fuel ran out , and furthermore that the Christian surgeon’s life would be in danger as local soldiers would blame him. The astounding part is that the local doctor had taken it upon himself to change the operation report listing the
attending surgeon as him instead! “You must go back home to your country and family... I must stay here and if needed, die whilst treating my patients.”
Thankfully their worst fears weren’t realised but the parallels with what Christ Jesus, our one true treasure, has done for us are unmistakable, and the implications for us as Christian medicos are obvious – what are we willing to give up in the service of Him?
As we seek to provide whole person care, in what ways can we take that extra step that only He can move us to do?
Dr Richard Wong, PRIME Tutor, Australia
