Time To See The Doctor

Scripture:
Luke 19:1-9 (NASB)

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.

Devotional:

With the exception of a wellness visit we only go to the doctor when we are sick or hurt.  Doctors generally visit the sick and tend to the injured.  Jesus even stated that He did not come for the righteous but for the unrighteous.  Luke 19:10 (NASB), “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”  Mark 2:17 (NASB), “And hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’”  

Christ came and died for each of us, all of us were lost at one point in our lives.  Because Christ died for all sinners we cannot exclude people from sharing the gospel.  It is permissible for us to have friends who are not saved.  After all if we only socialized with those that are saved who would reach out to the unsaved?  However, we need to keep ourselves firmly planted on a solid foundation, Christ.  We go to the doctor for well visits to ensure we are still healthy, that nothing is wrong.  We need fellowship with fellow believers and a good solid church to be involved in.  Going to church, attending Bible studies, and other related activities can help us stay firmly rooted in Christ.  We get our spiritual checkups to ensure we are ready and able to go forth into this world.  A doctor isn’t there for the healthy but for the sick.  A doctor will help you maintain a healthy state of life.  Christ came to save the sinners.  As Christians we need to remain deeply rooted in Him in order to maintain a healthy spiritual life.