Last time I talked about how all medicine is made either directly or indirectly by God and that as such we must acknowledge its place in our lives. Today I want to consider the benefits of meds as a gift from God.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17
I’m sure we’ve all had the experience of suffering under the effects of some illness only to find relief or healing from the use of medicine. It’s hard for us to imagine the profound influence on our lives that even the most run of the mill drug like penicillin has had. Death rates from infection plummeted between World Wars I and II largely due to the use of penicillin during the second World War. And to think it was discovered by accident, and again of natural origin (mold)! My kids and I studied the Middle Ages last year and we were struck by how the face of Europe was radically changed by the Bubonic plague. Whole generations were practically wiped out- up to 1/3 of Europe's population! Isn’t it strange to think that all that death could have been prevented by the use of modern day antibiotics?
Medicine is a gift from God, whether it brings healing or merely mitigates symptoms. God is so merciful that He never punishes us as much as we deserve. Adam and Eve’s sin brought about God’s curse on mankind and the earth. We deserve to suffer the full effects of the curse, but even in our punishment God relents and is merciful. He helps us to endure the very curse we brought on ourselves! Medicine is a gift from God and we should thank Him for it!
Stay tuned for the next post in this series and hop over to my blogfrog community if you want to interact on this topic. I'd love to have your feedback here, as well.
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