The Washington Conference is blessed indeed to have so many fine Christian physicians as members of its churches and practicing within its territory. With so many of our doctors possessing the proper vision of the task that has been given to the church, the amount of good that they are capable of giving to the cause we all love is of inestimable value.
In this connection one is reminded of that challenging gem of inspiration, that "there is no limit to the usefulness of one who, by putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart, and lives a life wholly consecrated to God."—The Desire of Ages, p. 250. Surely, none are able to comprehend fully the depth of meaning found in such a statement. But I believe that all will agree that the Christian physician who is willing to put self aside truly opens the way to a life where his usefulness is without limit.
In Matthew 4:23 we learn that the ministry of Jesus while on this earth was threefold. He ministered to others through the avenues of teaching, preaching, and healing. He mingled in a most beautiful way the physical with the spiritual.
"During His ministry, Jesus devoted more time to healing the sick than to preaching. . . . As He passed through the towns and cities, He was like a vital current, diffusing life and joy wherever He went. The followers of Christ are to labor as He did. We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the suffering and afflicted. We are to minister to the despairing, and inspire hope in the hopeless."—/bid., p.350.
Entire communities were left without an afflicted person because Jesus had passed through. These healings proved to be, over and over again, the entering wedge that brought soul-healing in the wake of physical healing. God is honored indeed when the Christian physician performs this double service. Sometimes the doctor is in a position to do this double service without the help of the gospel worker. At other times he is closely associated with the minister. But the objective must ever be sought—the healing of body and soul.
The messenger of God makes repeated reference to our medical work and the health message as being the "right hand" and the "right arm" of the message. I believe these statements are significant. They are not just so many pleasant-sounding words. The right hand and the right arm are very necessary to help serve and protect the body. Most people would be greatly handicapped without them. I am sure that my fellow ministers are agreed with me that the work of our churches is greatly strengthened and blessed by our God-sent medical missionaries at home and abroad. Without their services the body would truly be minus the right arm and hand.
Any gospel worker so situated as to have one or more clear-sighted, missionary-minded doctors in his church or district, is most fortunate. I am blessed with two such men in my district. Although I am associated more closely with one than with the other, they are both greatly appreciated. Our doctors are men of more than average intelligence. When they believe in the church program and are willing to co-operate with the conference on denominational plans, they are in a position to exert a very wholesome and helpful influence on the lives of those in the congregation who are looking for leadership that will lead.
Many of our doctors act as church elders or as deacons in the churches. This gives them a fine opportunity to give spiritual strength to the work. Their counsel is usually very timely and helpful on the church boards. Often these persons make excellent Sabbath school superintendents or teachers. Some are gifted with music or have some other talents. They are in a position to give constructive, as well as instructive, health and temperance talks. I have found these men willing to give of their services to our church schools, by giving helpful talks, as well as being on the alert to watch for the health of our boys and girls. The consecrated doctor can leave a fine impression as he visits the sick in the homes, by revealing the love of Jesus, teaching the sick to believe in the Great Healer, and pointing the sick to Calvary.
One of the doctors in my district has recently been directly responsible for bringing a man and his wife and three children into the message. Two of the children are attending the church school for the first time in their experience, and are happy to be in our school.
I think of still another doctor friend, who in days gone by brought a minister of another faith into this truth by the skillful use of his hands, the tactful use of literature, and the example of a godly, consistent Christian life. That minister is now preaching the last message of truth for the world.
The greatest days for the giving of our message are not the days behind us, but today and the days yet before us.
There is no intimation that these blessings of miracle working and healing the sick will be carried out by any one class of individuals, such as preachers, but rather, by "servants of God," which takes in doctors and preachers and many others, and they are to be so empowered.
"The great work of the gospel is not to close with less manifestation of the power of God than marked its opening. . . . Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will -hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven. By thousands of voices, all over the „earth, the warning will be given. Miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and signs and wonders will follow the believers. . . . The message will be carried not so much by argument as by the deep conviction of the Spirit of God."—The Great Controversy, -pp. 611, 612.
The blessing of the latter rain should soon be felt everywhere, for during the time that Christ is in the sanctuary "while the work of salvation is closing, trouble will be coming on the earth, and the nations will be angry, . . . At that time the 'latter rain,' or refreshing from -the presence of the Lord, will come."—Early Writings, pp. 85, 86.
Yes, the "medical missionary workers and workers in the gospel ministry are to be bound together by indissoluble ties." As preachers we -thank God for the missionary-minded and the -missionary-trained doctors who have been sent to bless our churches. May God continue to strengthen us and use us as every member of -the body of Christ functions to the glory of Christ, the Head.
