The Value of Complete Information

I have been sick. Like really sick. The kind where I actually missed worship and work and skipped fun family things. Through this experience, I have reaffirmed the need for complete information. Allow me to explain.

Last Thursday, after not feeling well for about 24 hours, I finally gave in and went to the doctor once I began to run a fever. I felt very “flu-y.” However, I tested negative for both strep and flu so they looked at my white blood count to determine if my problem was viral or bacterial. The white blood count showed bacterial, so with the information available, I was given a general antibiotic and told to take Tylenol and ibuprofen in rotation. They wrote me a note to return to work Monday.

I followed the directions I was given. I canceled events for Friday and Saturday and stayed in the bed or on the recliner. I took my medicine. But I wasn’t getting better. Why? When I went back to the doctor Monday, a new test was added: a chest x-ray. Eureka! I had pneumonia. The provider told me the antibiotic I was taking wouldn’t even touch pneumonia.

So where is the spiritual connection? Well, I’m afraid that there are people out there who are doing everything they have been told to cure their sin-sickness, but who don’t have the complete information. Some have been told to simply believe. Others have prayed a prayer that is supposed to work. However, when one looks at the Great Physician’s full prescription, they will find the following:

• Romans 10:17: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
• Mark 16:16: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
• Acts 2:38: “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'”
• Romans 10:10: “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
• 1 Peter 3:21: “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (ESV)
• Matthew 25:21: “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. … Enter into the joy of your master.’”

Had we had complete information last Thursday, I might not have missed so much and still feel so weak. Trust me: once we had the complete information, I did not hesitate to take the shot and the new antibiotic. If you now have the complete information, don’t wait for healing.

“And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)

To Receive Every Article from A Legacy of Faith through Email for Free, Click Here

AUTHOR: Amber Tatum