The last time you were you sick, why did you go to the doctor? Was it because you were a wimp, chickening out on an opportunity to demonstrate your mighty power over illness? No, of course not. You went because you knew the doctor could make you better, and that only makes sense. In all likelihood the doctor gave you some medicine that if taken would make you well again. But why did the medicine work? Because you believed it would? No – the medicine worked because it was scientifically engineered to fight infection in our bodies, and it really works whether we believe that it will or not.

Christianity operates in much the same manner. Each person on this earth is desperately sick, and Jesus is the only doctor that can cure us. The Bible says that that we’ve all sinned and that the result of our sin is death. Simply put, we’re all terminally ill. But, the good news is that Christ can heal us. Some accuse Christians of using Christ as a psychological crutch, but that’s about as crazy as believing a person with pneumonia uses their doctor as a psychological crutch. A Christian is no weaker for seeing the ultimate physician than a heart attack victim is for seeing a heart surgeon.

So, why is this analogy so powerful and effective? Because Jesus really does heal people, and those who have been healed testify first hand to the doctor’s abilities. Not only can Jesus heal our terminal illness, he is the only legitimate doctor. There are a lot of medical doctors out there who are practicing their own brand of medicine, persuading people they are healed when they really are not. They convince their patients that some experimental technique they invented can heal them, and a lot of people leave that doctor’s office believing they are healed when they really are not. Why do some doctors practice a lie? Oh, lots of reasons: greed, pride, power, etc. Do their patients believe they are healed? Some do, most realize they’ve been duped. Unfortunately, we’ve got a lot of this going around in the religious community as well. How do you know if a medical doctor can really help you? Check out their credentials and talk to their patients. How do you know if the spiritual leader you are following can heal you? Check out their credentials and talk to their patients. Jesus Christ’s credentials are that he was raised from the dead – what other spiritual leader has had their message authenticated by God is such a dramatic way? Jesus Christ’s patients include eleven disciples who witnessed the power of Christ first hand, all but one dying for what they knew to be true (the other was exiled for his faith); they include Paul, a zealous Jew and Christ-hater, who encountered Jesus in the flesh then followed him all the way to the grave; they include millions of sick people around the globe who have been miraculously, truly, and eternally healed by Christ himself.

Do you believe that you are sick? Do you realize a deep need to be forgiven for the mistakes you have made? Do you realize life just isn’t working out as you thought it should be? Go see the doctor. Jesus wants to heal you even more dramatically than he healed the physically sick two thousand years ago. But to be healed, you must do what the doctor says – you must take the medicine. The medicine is this, accept God’s gift of forgiveness made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That’s the easiest, yet most powerful pill you’ll ever swallow.