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Medicines and Treatments

In this section we will discuss treatments in both traditional, or allopathic medicine, as well as natural medicine, sometimes referred to as holistic medicine. For the sake of this section, nutrition, herbal remedies, and essential oils are included as many things that are either ingested internally or applied externally, for the purpose of promoting health and wellness, can cause harmful effects if used inappropriately. As such, they should be a part of the conversation you have with your healthcare provider.

Why do I as a healthcare professional and a Christian prescribe medicines for people? Jesus, the Great Physician, used a medicine to heal people. In the book of John Chapter 9, the story is told of a blind man who desired to be healed. Jesus knelt down, spat on the ground, and made a compound of the saliva and dirt. He then placed it on the man’s eyes and the man was healed from his blindness. Jesus was very powerful; He could just speak to the wind and the waves and they did exactly as He asked. He spoke to or simply touched many and healed them. He did not need to use anything other than Himself. But, in this story of the blind man, He chose to use something external to Himself. He is called the Balm in Gilead. What is a balm? My elders used to call it a salve, or an ointment, or even liniment.  It was a medicine used in ancient times to promote healing, particularly in wound care. What is a medicine? It's a mixture or compound that we either take internally or externally. I do not deny the benefit of the power of medicine, natural or synthetic. In this example, Jesus himself used both prayer and medicine to get the result of healing.