Responsible Calling
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the mind and heart with which he is called to deal. If he is ignorant
of the power of divine grace, he cannot help the afflicted one, but
will aggravate the difficulty; but if he has a firm hold upon God, he
will be able to help the diseased, distracted mind. He will be able to
point his patients to Christ and teach them to carry all their cares and
perplexities to the great Burden Bearer.
There is a divinely appointed connection between sin and disease.
No physician can practice for a month without seeing this illustrated.
He may ignore the fact; his mind may be so occupied with other matters
that his attention will not be called to it; but if he will be observing
and honest, he cannot help acknowledging that sin and disease bear to
each other the relationship of cause and effect. The physician should
be quick to see this and to act accordingly. When he has gained the
confidence of the afflicted by relieving their sufferings and bringing
them back from the verge of the grave, he may teach them that disease
is the result of sin, and that it is the fallen foe who seeks to allure
them to health-and-soul-destroying practices. He may impress their
minds with the necessity of denying self and obeying the laws of life
and health. In the minds of the young especially he may instill right
principles. God loves His creatures with a love that is both tender and
strong. He has established the laws of nature; but His laws are not
arbitrary exactions. Every “Thou shalt not,” whether in physical or
moral law, contains or implies a promise. If it is obeyed, blessings will
attend our steps; if it is disobeyed, the result is danger and unhappiness.
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The laws of God are designed to bring His people closer to Himself.
He will save them from the evil and lead them to the good, if they will
be led; but force them He never will....
Physicians who love and fear God are few compared with those
who are infidels or openly irreligious; and these should be patronized
in preference to the latter class. We may well distrust the ungodly
physician. A door of temptation is open to him, a wily devil will
suggest base thoughts and actions, and it is only the power of divine
grace that can quell tumultuous passion and fortify against sin. To
those who are morally corrupt, opportunities to corrupt pure minds are
not wanting. But how will the licentious physician appear in the day
of God? While professing to care for the sick, he has betrayed sacred
trusts. He has degraded both the soul and the body of God’s creatures
and has set their feet in the path that leads to perdition. How terrible to