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By H.G. Dr Geevarghese Mar Osthathios
Certain Pentecostal sects forbid their members from using medicines and condemn others who use medicines as of inferior faith. This is definitely unwise and unscriptural. "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good." (Gen. 1: 31). All the various medicines have been made from the herbs or other materials God has created for the good of man. Any ayurvedic eye doctor would say that when Jesus 'spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man's eyes with the clay' {Jn. 9: 6), he was using medicine for healing of the eyes.
The mission hospitals around the world are in obedience of the Lord's command, 'heal the sick' (Mt. 10: 8). The Good Samaritan who had compassion on the wounded traveler did not offer a prayer for healing and pass along, but 'Bound up his wounds, pouring oil and wine' (Lk. 10: 34), and entrusted him to the inn, which was a hospital of those days. Our Lord Himself has said, that it is the sick who need the doctor. (Mk. 2: 17; Lk. 5:31).
Both prayer and medicines are powerful for healing and both should be used with no prejudice against one or the other. Even if healing comes through the use of medicine, the source of all healing is God Himself. (Jer. 30: 17). Hezekiah the king was sick unto death, but healing came through the application of the cake of figs to the boil as commissioned by God through Isaiah (38: 1-22). It is therefore, wrong to test the Lord by refusing to use His gift of medicines. Our only trust must be in the Lord even while going to the doctor and acting as wise as a serpent.
'It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man' (Ps. 118:8). The only prayer of the patient must be 'Thy will be done.'
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