Some years ago a seeker after truth attended L' one of our religious gatherings in England. He came with the expectation of hearing a rousing gospel sermon. It so happened on that afternoon that I gave a talk on health, dwelling especially on the importance of carefulness in the selection and combination of foods, and also the need of keeping the body temple clean by abstaining from the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other harmful things. At the close he came to me and said, "What has this to do with religion ?" It did not take long to convince him that what we eat and what we drink has very much to do with good religion, that it is an essential part of the gospel to be preached in all the world as a witness before the end comes, and that it is one of the means that will prepare a ,people for that event.
This man became so thoroughly inoculated with the idea that not merely did he become a convert to our truth but through the financial aid he gave us we were able to furnish our first sanitarium in England. He later gave up his business and became our business manager. Still later he became a successful minister of the gospel, combining health teaching with his spiritual ministry. In a letter I received from him several years after his conversion he wrote : "I have not forgotten you or the great debt I owe you in having brought to me a saving knowledge of the truth. You may be glad to hear that this one convert in old England has multiplied to about four hundred and twenty. I trust that with God's divine blessing the number may increase yet more."
The combination of medical and ministerial work is not a modern idea. With God's people anciently these two were combined. The priest looked after the physical well-being of the people as well as after their spiritual needs. He was able to diagnose the ordinary diseases that might threaten an epidemic in the camp of Is-, rael, and also to give instruction as to what was to be done in-regard to isolation and disinfection. The matter of diet was considered of special importance. God had purposed to make this people a kingdom of priests, or teachers. To bring this about necessitated reforms in their habits of eating. They were taught that what a man ate and drank had much to do with what he was, both physically and spiritually.
In the work of Christ these two forms of ministry were blended. He went about doing good and healing all manner of diseases among the people. He also instructed those who were healed in regard to the causes of their illness, and then sent them home to their friends as missionaries with the admonition: "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." Again, in sending forth those who had received a special training from Him for their work, He said, As you go from place to place, "heal the sick," and tell them the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. In their ministry, as in that of their Teacher, these two forms of ministry were combined. So closely were they combined that in reading the Gospel According to Matthew and the Gospel According to Luke it is difficult to determine which was written by the physician and which by the evangelist, so perfectly did these two phases of ministry blend.
There are many today whose palsied stomachs and livers can never be healed until the palsied mind is restored. Diet alone, or the best of medical treatment, cannot greatly benefit those living under the burden of guilt. First of all, they need spiritual help. On the other hand, we recognize that many are depressed mentally. They are discouraged and possibly think they have committed the unpardonable sin, but they are merely suffering the results of wrong habits of eating. They cannot be helped much spiritually without correcting their dietetic errors. This explains why the ministry of Christ, which combined these two forms of ministry, met with such success.
Someone afflicted with nervousness or insomnia can possibly have prayer answered by giving up the use of tea or coffee, if tea or coffee is the cause of the nervousness and insomnia, as it frequently is. Someone afflicted with impatience cannot be helped by the mere resolve to be more patient, if intemperance or error in eating or drinking is the cause of the impatience. The apostle stated, "Add to . . . temperance patience." It is not usual for a person to possess a sour stomach and a sweet, amiable disposition at the same time. What we eat and what we drink has very much to do with what we are, not merely physically, but spiritually.
It is necessary that every missionary before he is sent forth should acquire a certain amount of knowledge along medical lines. Years ago the one going forth as a missionary without medical training often labored for years without making converts. The medical missionary is able to speak a language that all can understand from the very beginning, as he goes forth to minister to the people's ills. Where our medical missionaries are now located, people often come many miles to receive physical treatment. This forms an avenue to their souls, and enables the missionary to carry forward a double ministry —to heal the sick and to preach the gospel of the kingdom.
I fully believe that before the work closes in this world, this double ministry will again be combined as closely as it was in the life of Christ, and later in the lives of those whom He sent forth. I further believe that these two should never have been separated. What God hath joined together, no man should ever have put asunder.
