April 28, 2016

Diagnosis

Before getting the diagnosis on Bill’s pelvic fracture some friends and family offered suggestions of alternative doctors, specialists and treatments. While I appreciate the suggestions, all of them seemed premature while we were still in the process of running tests. On the religious landscape people of faith do something similar when we diagnosis one another’s spiritual health. Jesus’ disciples asked about a man they encountered who had been blind from birth, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind” (John 9:2 NIV). I suppose the disciples had visions of sending the man to the priest, or a doctor specializing in sin, rather than to The Healer.

1 comment:

Steve Corey said...

Gail;

-----Intimacy helps. Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary first lists “INTRINSIC” as being defining of “intimate” (adj.) And about “intrinsic” it says, “belonging to the essential nature or constitution of a thing,” and even more relevant to Bill’s situation, “originating or due to causes within a body, organ, or part.” So, “If anyone has a suggestion, let it come from intimacy,” means the relevant portion of information regarding the situation is known by the one offering suggestions as opposed to a surface knowledge of the mere appearance of a situation. That removes a lot of advice from the table of “what to do” and places it on the table of “what to explore”, for exploration is the process of getting intimate with facts and circumstances of a situation. Then if the suggestion ties into the facts and circumstances, it can be moved back onto the “what to do” table. This is why I never run with advice unless I know the advisor knew the relevant facts and circumstances of my situation.

Love you all,
Steve Corey