Serving in the NHS as a Christian during Coronavirus

At Cornerstone, we consider it a real blessing to have so many hard-working, committed NHS staff members in our congregation serving in many different areas…

Children’s nurses, midwives, cancer specialists, radiographers, community nurses and more.

Some of them are just beginning their exciting new careers whereas others are now looking back on years of work.

And yet they all share one motivation – the desire to bring healing, restoration and comfort to those in need. And for these workers, that desire flows naturally from their Christian faith.

If you open up one of the New Testament biographies of Jesus (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John), you’ll soon encounter a healing story. Jesus healed literally thousands of people. The paralysed, the crippled, the blind, those with skin disease and those battling long-term debilitating conditions all found restoration at his feet.

And at the time, conditions like this would render you ‘unclean’. Many people would push you to the edge of society. But not Jesus. That’s why he is often described as the ‘Great Physician!’ He loved to restore these ‘outcasts’ but not just physically…

Mark chapter 2: “When Jesus heard it, he said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.’”

Every healthcare professional knows that when treating a sick patient you have to do a thorough investigation. If only the presenting symptoms are treated, many patients would die. Often, the real problems lie beneath the surface.

Jesus knew that too. Here he describes himself as a physician who has come to treat the biggest problem of all – sin. This small but powerful word describes how we’ve treated God. In essence, it means turning away from our Creator and living as if he didn’t matter. That sickness is lurking inside every human heart. But the wonderful news is, Jesus, the great Physician, is qualified and able to cure that problem.

Ultimately he came to earth not just to heal the body but to heal the soul – to provide forgiveness for our sins by dying and rising again, and to restore us to our Creator God.

Our wonderful NHS workers know they’re not just healers; they’re patients too, who have found healing and restoration in Jesus.

By Tom Sweatman
Tom Sweatman is the assistant pastor at Cornerstone Kingston and lives in Tolworth with his wife Laura and young son.