Walking In Love
by Dan Jones, M.D.
Matthew 8:14-15
“When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.”
These verses record the third encounter for Jesus after coming down the mountain where he had delivered his great Sermon on the Mount. He has healed a man with leprosy and the servant of a Roman soldier. Now, he comes to Peter’s house where Peter’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever. Despite a strong belief that good Jewish men should not touch a woman other than their wife and that people with fever should not be touched, Jesus did touch and heal her.
Jesus once again backed up his talk on the mountain with his walk in the valley. He demonstrated for us what it is like not to consider others better than ourselves and to put the interests of others before us. In teaching us about relationships across gender, he consistently taught us more with his actions. This encounter with Peter’s mother early in his earthly ministry was just the beginning of his teaching about how wrong social customs can be and how they should be ignored when they conflict with His teachings about love.
Jesus’ relationship with Mary and Martha and his relationship with Mary Magdalene teach us much about friendships through God across gender. But his encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well speaks to my heart strongest. There he engaged in a relationship with a woman he did not know, a Samaritan, and a woman with a sinful life. Jesus violated every taboo that existed in this encounter. It astonished even his closest disciples who witnessed his love for people every day. Jesus demonstrated with his walk that God expects us to share His love with everyone.
In our modern world, we might live under the delusion that prejudice toward women no longer exists and there is no concern for us in this area. But no profession is stricken with more problems of sexism than the health professions. Women seeking careers in medicine still may face serious prejudice and inappropriate behavior from colleagues. Women seeking balance between career and family often encounter resentment and ridicule from male professional partners.
I look forward to a day when the health professions are free of gender bias. Each of us has a responsibility to encounter our colleagues in a spirit of love as demonstrated by the example of Jesus.
Lord, help me to walk in love in all my professional relationships.
Dan Jones, M.D., MACP, FAHA, a board-certified Internist, a former medical missionary to Korea, professor of medicine at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Dean of the School of Medicine, and Chancellor of the University of Mississippi until 2015. Dr. Dan Jones is a member of CMDA.
Dr. Jones welcomes any comments or questions about what he has written and can be reached at - djones@umc.edu
Rounds with the Master, Spiritual Pearls from the Great Physician Devotionals are released every Monday and Thursday.
Photo by Juliane Liebermann on Unsplash
