Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 10
April 23, 1959
NUMBER 50, PAGE 3a

Visiting The Sick

Robert C. Welch, Birmingham, Alabama

"I was sick, and ye visited me." (Matt. 25:36.) This statement is taken from the judgment scene, as words of the Lord of glory to those gathered on his right hand when all the nations shall be brought before him at the end of mundane experience. This is one of the conscious overt fruits of Christianity. It is Christianity demonstrated to the world. It is the light of discipleship shining before the world, to constrain the world to give glory unto God. Furthermore it is a part of the record which will cause us to be accepted at the right hand of the Lord in the day of judgment and have it said, 'Come ye blessed of my Father."

Its True Meaning

Visiting the sick involves more than making a hospital call or sending a card. These practices are not to be criticized; they may and often serve a genuinely helpful purpose of cheering the patient, for a good mental attitude is one of the best medicines of modern scientific discovery. Such calls, then, should be of a nature to cheer rather than depress, to steady rather than to stir, to encourage rather than discourage. Talk of problems and needs at home or in his office or shop tend to multiply anxieties in his careworn mind. Case histories of acquaintances or of similar sickness which have not turned out well will be worse than no call.

But is this all that can be done? In some instances, yes. Hospital arrangements and modern nursing care is of such nature that in many instances there are not the needs which visitation involved even in the days of our parents. But in many instances there is yet much to be done which the term visit includes. Often there are children which need attention, maybe care of their clothing. It may be food and meals attended to. It may be the cleaning of the house. It may be errands. And many other things.

These are often the things which should be done; but which we avoid, excusing ourselves from these and theoretically justifying ourselves by having sent a card or made a fifteen minute call. That is the religion of the priest and the Levite, not of the good Samaritan.

Individual, Not Representative

Organized and representative activity characterizes our modern business and society in general. The laborer does not deal with management directly, they have their organization and as a group they deal with management through their representative. Parents no longer expect to deal directly with the school, they have their parent-teacher organizations and deal with the school through its leaders and representatives. Business houses do not deal independently and directly with their public in community affairs, they have their chambers of commerce and thus operate representatively.

This is not a criticism of the above mentioned practices of Christians and their duties is the present concern. Christians are coming more and more to the theory that they can perform their Christian duties representatively through the organization. There is a certain degree of organization and a certain amount of organized function of the church specified in the Scriptures. But in no instance does this relieve the individual of his own responsibilities.

Christians sometimes get the notion that the elders or the preacher have the God-given duty of making sick calls as representatives of the church. They think that is what they "hired" the preacher to do, and what they appointed the elders for. No such representative function is authorized in the Scriptures. They cannot perform miracles as some could before inspiration and its confirmation ceased, as is mentioned in the fifth chapter of James. They have the obligation to visit, and as elders and leaders should be examples; but when they do so they are fulfilling their own personal obligation. They are not doing church visiting. They have not represented you, and have not done your visiting. They can no more do that than they can represent you at the right hand of glory on the day of judgment. Where you stand then will be determined by what you do now; and not by what you expect someone else to do for you.