Call the Doctor!
(Picture Credits at end of post)
Reading: Mark 2:13-17
And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17 – NASB)
Religion can be a terrible thing; it has the ability to create hardness of heart and strangle compassion before it has a chance to take a breath. The Pharisees were not concerned for the healing of souls, only for the maintenance of their religious code.
I use the word `religion“ to describe those religious devotees who see Christianity as a kind of obstacle course in which some are good at it, some not so good, and some very bad. Those who are good at it can then gloat upon those who struggle, or who come in last. That kind of religion is a terrible thing.
For one thing it is not good news, and the Gospel, if it is anything at all, is good news. If Christianity were an obstacle course, then most of us would not make it; indeed, I think none of us would make it, for God`s standards are so high only perfection is good enough. And perfection is so far from the human condition, to think we can reach it and so attain salvation is more like a cruel joke.
What`s more, religion places the responsibility upon the sinner to cleanse himself from his own sin, which is an impossible thing.
What has been largely lost in the church is the understanding of sin as a bondage. Men and women bound with chains cannot free themselves; they have to be freed by Someone who Himself is not bound. And since we are bound by chains of supernatural power, only the supernatural power of the risen Christ can free us.
We need to call the only Physician (doctor) who can heal our sinful condition.
The Great Physician
(© Monday 29th September 2014 – by Christopher Shennan)
The Great Physician: He healed me
From the disease of sin and shame;
While religious folks despised me –
They had nothing for me, but blame.
Sure, I was a poor, lost sinner;
The wrack and ruin I caused was vast,
But my Lord, he came and rescued
Me, and wiped my guilty past.
Yet those who worship religion,
And not the sweet Giver of life,
Seek only to point their fingers
And stir up envy and strife.
No matter, the Great Physician,
Though knowing my sinful disease,
Chose rather to give me compassion,
And the weight of my sin to ease.
So take my advice and cling to
The Great Physician’s healing art;
Though religious folks may strike you,
He will heal your wounded heart.
My website: http://www.christophershennan.ca
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CNShennan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristopherShennanAuthor
Doctor Consults with Patient” This image was released by the National Cancer Institute, an agency part of the National Institutes of Health, with the ID 2528. Photograph is in the public domain. No changes were made to this photograph. Find this photo at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Doctor_consults_with_patient_%287%29.jpg.
Gems of Discovery - Nuggets of Truth 
