Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – Leviticus 13-15
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Mark 2:17
Jesus (to the scribes): People who have their health don’t need to see a doctor. Only those who are sick do. I’m not here to call those already in good standing with God; I’m here to call sinners to turn back to Him.
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
You know what they call people who continually draw on the assets of the medical community without reason? Who take up a doctor’s time and energy when there is absolutely nothing wrong with them? Hypochonriacs. Of course, that in itself is a disease. It’s a mental illness that needs attention, but by a different kind of doctor with different skills and a different array of tools.
Our emergency rooms are also full of people without emergencies. It’s not uncommon to go to an ER in the United States and wait for hours before seeing a provider for minor illnesses. Maybe they don’t seem minor to you at the time, but sniffles, bumbs and bruises, even a low grade fever isn’t an emergency. But those folks fill the emergency rooms across the country taking up resources that should be reserved for true life or death emergencies. We got ourselves into this mess with the high cost of medical care, our insurance debacles, and a host of other factors that as a nation we did not control very well. So here we are.
The point is, though, that sick people go to see a doctor. Whether a primary care doctor for those routine illnesses, an emergency room for something severe and urgent, or a specialist for something else, we go to a doctor when we’re sick. And usually, if we’re not sick, we avoid those places. I don’t know anyone that enjoys sitting around in doctors’ offices or emergency rooms or hospitals just for the fun of it. They are not built for fun. I don’t have any hospital addresses on my vacation list. You probably don’t either. But guess what? I also don’t know any doctors that make house calls any more. If you don’t go to the place they practice, you won’t get the care you need. House calls are out of the question now days.
Jesus tells the scribes when they complain about the company He keeps that it’s time to make house calls again. He goes outside the temple and the synagogues and reaches out to the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the thieves, the beggars, the lepers, the outcasts of society. He doesn’t wait for the sick to come to Him, He goes out to the sick to shorten the distance the must go to reach Him.
So what does that tell us today? Too often we get comfortable sitting inside the four walls of our churches, temples, and synagogues waiting for someone to come in to hear the gospel. As we sit in the pew and sing praises, we wonder why the world is in such terrible shape. But we refuse to take a step outside the door to share the message to those who really need to hear the good news that Jesus will forgive them of their sins and live in them to help them live the life for which He created them.
We don’t want to go where the sick are, but expect them to come to us. In medical practice, we have come to believe we need all the equipment and lab tests and support personnel in order to treat patients adequately, so we no longer make house calls. I’m afraid we’ve adopted that same philosophy with our outreach to others spiritually. We have somehow come to believe that without the trappings of the sanctuary, the altars, the pastor, the sermon, worship service, we cannot lead someone to the Savior.
Of course neither is really true. Good doctors generally have a good idea what’s wrong with a patient before all the tests and x-rays and labs are done. Most have honed their skills and use those instruments to confirm what they already suspect from their diagnosis. And good Christians don’t need the trappings of the sanctuary or the grounds of the church to lead someone to Christ. They know the Savior. They know how they came to Him in humility and repentance. And with just that much understanding, we can help someone else find Him. It’s not that hard.
So how do we get our brothers and sisters to start doing what Jesus asked us to do and share the message with those outside the four walls of our place of worship? There’s a really easy way to start. The best way to get people to do something you want them to do is to be an example. So if I start sharing the gospel to those that need to hear it, my co-workers, my neighbors, the cashier at the grocery store, taxi drivers, just anyone I happen to meet. If I start sharing the gospel, and my brothers and sisters see me sharing the gospel and see the fruit of my labor by the new Christians I invite to join me in fellowship in small group studies, maybe they will follow my example.
Actions always speak louder that words. So why don’t you be an example today and share the good news of salvation with someone who needs it?
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