CURE International is an organization that builds hospitals in impoverished areas of the world, offering needed surgeries and medical help, particularly to children with birth defects (who are usually being ostracized by their society). Tragically, one of their doctors was murdered last week, along with two others. From their CEO:
It is with deep sadness that I write today, mourning the loss of three lives that were taken by force at the CURE International Hospital compound in Kabul, Afghanistan.
One of these men, Dr. Jerry Umanos…had faithfully served the Afghan people as a pediatrician at the hospital for more than seven years, caring for the most vulnerable members of society – children and premature infants – and helping them survive the harsh realities of childbirth in Afghanistan….
The shooter was not an employee of CURE International, but rather a member of the Afghan police detail assigned to protect the hospital. The assailant shot himself after the attack and was taken into surgery by Jerry’s colleagues at the hospital before being transferred out of our facility into the custody of the government of Afghanistan [emphasis added].
Why did Christianity create a civilization where people seek to heal those lowest on the societal ladder, at great cost to themselves? Because “Jesus...although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men…. He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” for us.
Because Jesus washed His disciples’ feet and said, “Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
In humility Jesus served us; in humility we serve others.
Why did Christianity create a civilization where people heal their enemies? Because “while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Because “while we were enemies,” while we “were by nature children of wrath…God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ.”
By grace God gave to us; by grace we give to others.
Do not take for granted that what Christianity has built will always be.
While I typically cringe at least a little on posts like these due to the "social gospel" bandwagon, I think Amy is spot on in this post. And the quote above is THE key point: In Matt. 5:43-48, we read Jesus commanding us:
Our demonstration of true love is what defines us as followers of Christ. And true love isn't possible without being regenerated unto saving faith in Jesus.
True love is most clearly shown in the ability and desire to love those who would turn around and despise us for it. Think of Jesus example just prior to his execution: he knew Peter would go on to deny him 3 times, and yet he went ahead and fulfilled his Father's work by dying for Peter.
Our Christian "culture", although I don't like that word, is differentiated because we don't just love those who are "worthy" of it. We also love those who hate us.
Posted by: d | May 02, 2014 at 07:41 AM
One major difference between Jesus and our medical missionary endeavors, is that Jesus healed ONLY believers. He would even challenge a person's faith to make sure, before removing the disease and other effects of their sin.
Posted by: dave | May 02, 2014 at 12:16 PM
Jesus didn't always filter healings by the piety of those who asked for help - how about the ten men with leprosy in Luke 17:11-19?
"As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[a] met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed."
Only one came back to, as Jesus put it, "give thanks to God".
Posted by: Deborah | May 02, 2014 at 02:14 PM
Dave, I think you're mistaken about that. Jesus healed the Gerasene demoniac, and he had no faith (he didn't even have someone who had faith requesting his healing on his behalf). There are others, as well (such as the Centurion's servant) that we don't know whether or not they had faith, and where Jesus didn't ask whether they had faith.
Jesus healed in order to make His glory known, so healing those with faith (or those who may not have faith, but whose healing was requested by someone with faith), was a good way to do that. However, as we see with the demoniac, that wasn't the only way He healed.
Regardless, I would say that the case of our medical missionaries is analogous to the Centurion rather than to Jesus. That is, Christians who do trust in Jesus have compassion for those who don't and seek their healing. Just as the Centurion sought the healing of his servant, so the missionaries seek the healing of those among whom they're living. So I would compare them to the Centurion, not Jesus. Or compare them to Peter and John who sought the healing of the lame beggar who had no faith in Jesus of his own.
Here's what's important to understand in the overall healing situation in the Bible: Faith was needed for healing not because there is any special power in faith or even because it, in itself, was a requirement for healing, but because a person's trust (i.e., "faith") in Jesus is what caused him or her to come to Christ for help in the first place. Nobody would come to Christ for help unless he had faith. This is why the faith of friends who sought someone else's healing was rewarded just as well as the person's own faith--because it was their trust in Jesus' ability to heal (their faith) that brought them to Jesus to ask for it.
Those who came to Jesus out of their faith were healed. Those who did not think Jesus could heal (did not have faith) did not come to Jesus, so they weren't healed.
And yet, even so, Jesus went out to the demoniac, and called forth the man with the withered hand (without any declaration of faith or even a request on the part of the man), healing people who didn't even ask for it. It honored Christ to respond to people's requests made to Him, and it honored Christ to go out and seek to heal those who didn't know to request it, when it would be clear that He was responsible for the healing.
Posted by: Amy | May 02, 2014 at 02:17 PM
Re:Deborah, When the lepers said “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
That was evidence of the faith required for healing. Jesus always required faith before healing.
Posted by: dave | May 02, 2014 at 04:03 PM
Re: Amy, Even the Gadarene Demoniac showed faith. "when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him" Mat. 5:6
Was it not faith when the man with the withered arm stretched it forth for healing at Jesus' command? Doubt would not have complied.
We are taught that God works in families, as in Acts 16:31 "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." The faith of the parent or relative was indication that the young or incapacitated recipient of healing was also among God's elect.
Also, the "daughter of Abraham" mentioned in Luke 13:16 whom Satan had bound for eighteen years, whom Jesus loosed, was a believer. She would not have been considered a daughter of Abraham as an unbeliever.
When it says they were healed as they went. It was faith causing them follow Jesus' directions. Whether dipping in a pool or performing some work of faith in order to be healed. How many times does Jesus say "according to your faith be it unto you"?
Posted by: dave | May 02, 2014 at 04:31 PM
The demoniac ran up to Jesus and "bowed down before Him" because Jesus was more powerful than he, not because he had faith in Jesus. In fact, his very next words were "What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?" Those are not the words of faith.
The rest of what you say I don't think contradicts what I said. People who had faith came to Jesus for healing. People who had faith came to Jesus to heal their friends (such as the Centurion's servant, who wasn't part of his family).
When people had faith, Jesus responded to that, but He also graciously gave to the demoniac who had no faith at the moment of his rescue, only after.
I will grant you that everyone who did not begin with faith (like the lame beggar with John and Peter) ended up with it. Jesus' healings were always connected with faith, but the faith didn't always precede the healing.
Posted by: Amy | May 02, 2014 at 06:36 PM
Re: Amy, Again; Even the Gadarene Demoniac showed faith. "when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him" Mat. 5:6 All of this = faith.
Also; Mt 13:58 "And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief."
In challenging the faith of the woman from Canaan who sought deliverance from a demon for her daughter, Jesus said "It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs."
That is to say, that healing (the children's bread)was intended for believing Jews and grafted in Jews only. Because of her persevering faith, Jesus recognized her also as one of His. Also see Ro 2:29 for a definition of a believing Jew.
It then says: in V 28 "Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour."
Posted by: dave | May 03, 2014 at 12:56 AM
is faith a required in healing? how about the widow's son in Nain? there was no faith involve there.
the bones of elisha.. when a corpse touches his bone, he came to life again. there was no faith there. healing of peter's mother in-law, healing of the withered hand. sometimes, Jesus did not requires faith when healing someone sick.
Posted by: meg | May 03, 2014 at 03:37 AM
Re: meg, Does Jesus save those not covered by His atonement for sin, (of which faith is an evidence of)? Of course not. Neither does He heal them. The same Greek word for salvation also means healing.
Posted by: dave | May 03, 2014 at 05:51 AM
“One major difference between Jesus and our medical missionary endeavors, is that Jesus healed ONLY believers. He would even challenge a person's faith to make sure, before removing the disease and other effects of their sin.”
Hi Dave,
I’m having a difficult time understanding your point. Are you saying that in order to be more Christ like, medical missionaries should limit their assistance to believers? It seems evident in d’s post (Matt. 5:43) for that not to be the case.
“Does Jesus save those not covered by His atonement for sin, (of which faith is an evidence of)? Of course not. Neither does He heal them.”
Does He not send rain on the just and on the unjust?
Posted by: blanko | May 07, 2014 at 07:54 AM
A few months ago I realised that Christ Humility differs from (for the sake of a better term) non-Christ Humility.
non-Christ Humility is shown by the weak towards the strong (e.g. the servant is humble before the master, the new recruit is humble before the CEO, the child is humble before the parent, the church member is humble before the church leader, the subject is humble before the King, Queen or President).
Christ Humility is shown by the strong towards the weak (e.g. Christ is humble before his disciples).
So when Christ is teaching Humility in the upper room I believe he is not directing his teaching at the servant, the new recruit, the child, the church member, the subject. He is directing his teaching towards the master, the parent, the church leader, the King, Queen or President.
So how does a disciple show "Christ Humility"? By finding someone over whom they have power ... and showing humility to them. How does a parent teach a child what humility is? By the parent being humble before a child.
This is what rings true for me.
Posted by: "Mark8v29" | May 11, 2014 at 11:48 AM
I find that if I replace the word "faith" with the word "trust" everything makes sense.
Posted by: "Mark8v29" | May 11, 2014 at 11:50 AM