Take your Medicine!

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“Take your medicine” By Diane Webb

3 John 2 “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”

3 John is a letter from the “Elder” to a man named Gaius in order to establish a source of support for future missionaries in the area. A prominent Christian in the vicinity had rejected this particular group of emissaries for unknown reasons. Previous travelers had vouched for Gaius and his hospitality. Without hospitality, the early Christians could not remain long in an area. Jesus instructed his disciples to shake the dust from their shoes and keep walking if they were not received hospitably in a town or village (Matthew 10: 14). The shaking of dust off the feet was a common and well understood signal to any who witnessed it. Gaius, on the other hand, had been known to welcome missionaries; to provide shelter and food to Christians traveling to the area. Therefore, the Elder is writing a letter to Gaius to commend his hospitality and to ensure his home will continue as a reliable source of support. The greeting in this letter contains a blessing which links spiritual health and prosperity to physical health and prosperity. The Elder wishes Gaius physical health and prosperity in proportion to his spiritual health and prosperity. Derek Prince (1915-2003), a British-American bible scholar and teacher, would read his bible three times each day as a dose of medication to prevent and treat illness. Over time his pre-existing illnesses resolved and he remained healthy throughout his life and ministry. Through many scripture references, Prince, like the Elder, drew a connection between physical health and spiritual health. This is not to imply all illness is the result of poor spiritual health. It is to say one can and does affect the other. There is no real separation between the physical and the spiritual. The Elder makes it clear by the way he frames his wish or blessing that the spiritual prosperity, however, comes first. By focusing on increasing spiritual health and prosperity, the Elder acknowledges physical health and prosperity will be affected. If you are in poor health, fighting off an illness, or suffering financial hardship; turn to the Bible, prayer--our heavenly father--for guidance and your daily doses of medicine. By all means seek medical care if needed, but also increase your efforts to deepen and expand your knowledge and understanding of God, his Son, the Holy Spirit, and the Bible. Often when we are feeling poorly or having a hardship we may tend to stop our daily spiritual routines. Feeling under the weather may give us the desire to stay home instead of attending the service we originally planned to attend. Most times we feel better when we fight the urge to stay in bed and persist in our spiritual disciplines regardless of how we feel. Remember you are both a spiritual and a physical being. It is important to take care of yourself both physically and spiritually. Do not separate these from each other for by doing so you essentially work against yourself in the long run and both areas will suffer. While physical health demands attention, often spiritual health goes neglected. Look at both these areas in your life and determine to increase your efforts to nurture yourself both physically and spiritually. As you do so, notice as one affects the other and over time both begin to prosper.

Thank you God for my physical and spiritual well being; show me today how I might increase my health and prosperity in both of these areas; give me the desire and wiliness to establish healthy routines for both spiritual and physical health. I pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.