The Physician Speaks

January 1

(Luke 1:1-4 NIV) “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, {2} just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. {3} Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, {4} so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”

(Colossians 4:14 NIV) “Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings.”

Luke was a physician from the Greek city of Antioch. He had not walked with Jesus, but likely heard about the Lord through Paul the apostle. After his conversion to Christianity, he went on to become much more than just your average pew warmer. He became one of Paul’s most loyal companions, serving with him on several missionary journeys. Luke was also a writer and a meticulous historian. He wrote the Gospel of Luke, and a history of the early church called the book of Acts. As Christianity took wing on the resurrection of Jesus, these two books chronicle its rise from a local sect to a world religion. Hopefully this year, through Luke’s faithful efforts and the illumination of the Holy Spirit, our faith can also spread its wings and move out into the world. As the physician speaks to us in the next fifty-two weeks, let’s prepare to rise above being just a “Sunday Christian”. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day