As a minister, one of my duties is to visit the sick and as request is made to anoint as instructed in James 5:14. Last week, I went to Texas Medical Center in order to visit with a lady from the Houston congregation who had undergone surgery.
In going to the Medical Center, I was amazed at how much it had expanded since I moved to Houston in 2011.
Here are a few facts about the Medical Center: The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a 2.1-square-mile medical district and neighborhood in south-central Houston. Over sixty medical institutions, largely concentrated in a triangular area between Brays Bayou, Rice University, and Hermann Park, are members of the Texas Medical Center Corporation—a non-profit umbrella organization—which constitutes the largest medical complex in the world. The TMC has an extremely high density of clinical facilities for patient care, basic science, and translational research. Finally, the Texas Medical Center employs over 106,000 people, hosts 10 million patient encounters annually, and has a gross domestic product of US$25 billion.
It is a truly amazing facility. A number of members have sought treatment there and have received excellent medical care.
From the first time I visited the medical complex, I have been overwhelmed by the concentration of buildings and the bustling nature of the services offered there.
My most significant conclusion about my visit to the Medical Center last week is that the facility is full of people with a whole variety of ailments.
Why so many sick and injured people? I think it is reflective of the fact that we live in a world that is sick on many levels and sadly that is not going to change much until we turn back to God and live by His word.
God’s blessing on a people who live by His word is spelled out in Exodus 15:26 “If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”
While medical science can address our ailments and offer some relief and healing, they do not through medical procedures address the core issue which is moral.
If our society would “do what is right in His (God’s) sight” and “give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes”, then we will not be plagued by the sicknesses and diseases all too common in the 21st century.
God promises us that there is a world that is coming that will be healthy and massive medical center will no longer be necessary.
As we keep the Sabbath, we can rejoice that there is a rest to come.
Gary Smith
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