Benign: A Misdiagnosis

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes the judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

Hebrews 9:27-28

The Dreaded Call. Maybe you, like me, have experienced that phone call we wish we had never received, letting us know we had a life threatening illness. It was just a few years ago, I received a call on a Sunday afternoon from my doctor. I was not expecting to hear this news; if I were to tell you that I was happy about the news, I would either be lying or you would declare me a certified lunatic. I had seen many other doctors before I received this phone call and all of them told me I was fine; I did not have a life-threatening illness. However, this Sunday afternoon, proved to be a day of reckoning for me as I received the very difficult news that all of the other doctors and specialists were wrong; they misdiagnosed me. (Note to readers: I no longer struggle with this illness -- the Lord has had His healing touch on me.)

photo credit: Phil and Pam via photopin cc
It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ~Luke 5:31

The Defiant Disposition. After receiving bad news, some of us recoil, others go into denial and some of us take the gloves off and begin fighting. However, when we are given the truth about our circumstances, we can choose how we will react and respond. If we are misdiagnosed, we do not have the opportunity to respond to the truth of our circumstances and in a sense are robbed of our dignity as human beings. Christ delivered messages that were difficult to hear (Mark 10:17-27) but He preserved the dignity of those who would listen and allowed individuals to respond to the truth of their circumstances.

The Decided Direction. The important fact, we so easily forget, is "but God." (Ephesians 2:4-6) If we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ, we remember that He has made us alive together with Him and He is actively involved in every part of our lives -- even the bad news of the day. However, if you are not a member of the body of Christ, the blessings that could be yours, have been forfeited. We cannot "water down" the message of Christ in an effort to make others feel comfortable about the "bad news." If my doctor did not call me that Sunday afternoon, and share the bad news with me, I would not have received the treatment I needed. If the body of Christ, is not truthful about the message of Christ, and does not let others know that they need a Savior and will spend eternity in hell without that Savior, how will they ever get the treatment they need? 

We cannot forfeit the message of the gospel in an effort to promote the facade of belonging.