The Rebuke Of Life

The Rebuke Of Life

“I brought [my son] to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.” Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Matthew 17:16-17

Obviously, God wanted this young boy to be healed because Jesus healed him. But that wasn’t the original plan. The disciples were supposed to be part of the healing process. But as the father of the boy said, the disciples couldn’t do it.

When Jesus heard the news, he rebuked the disciples for not having enough faith to heal the boy. Perhaps this was the lesson they needed to learn because in other parts of the New Testament we see that the disciples went on to heal many people.

As a resident in training, I received a similar rebuke from my instructor. A patient had come into our clinic with what seemed like a summer cold. He was coughing and producing white, foamy sputum. I didn’t see any signs of an infection, so I assumed it was a cold.

Because it was my first week in the clinic, I was asked to present my patient’s case to the attending physician. I told him about my exam and my conclusion. The attending physician asked a few probing questions, such as, Can he walk up a flight of steps? Does it get worse when he lies flat? What do his neck veins look like? Does he have a heart murmur?

As I answered those questions and more, I suddenly had a sick feeling in my stomach. I realized that the patient had more than a summer cold. He was in heart failure! And I had missed it!

To this day, I remember my attending physician’s rebuke. As a result, from that day forward, I’ve always considered the most life-threatening conditions before concluding it might be something less serious. It was a good lesson, and it was done in such a way that I never forgot it.

My guess is that the disciples remembered their rebuke from Jesus long after he was gone. He taught them that faith was a critical part of healing. From then on, they seemed to have the faith necessary to heal those whom God wanted healed.

TODAY’S RX

Rebukes are sometimes God’s way of instructing us. But learning to have faith can save us or someone else from physical or spiritual death.

I long to have faith that is rooted deeply in you, Father. Nourish me and help me to stand firm in your ways. Allow me to flourish and bring your Good News to others who are looking for hope.