I begin the day with a letter to God, then I read his word, and lastly I write a letter to the world. I do not know who reads what I write or where you are in the world. I am a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ who works at the bedside of the sick and injured in a Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit. Some of the things that I have seen over the years cause me to lament. The patient who was in my care for the past two shifts gave me much to lament about. He went through a vey difficult surgery and had much bleeding. Recovering him has been a challenge for the entire team. I have come to understand nursing as a ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ which uses science to better understand how to do the job of taking care of our neighbor. Many come to nursing who are good at science and math but do not necessarily have the heart for nursing. To stay in nursing for many years requires more than being good at science and math, it requires a caring heart. My last shift was a difficult one and much of nursing is difficult but nursing is a ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ and ought to be understood as such by everyone in the profession.
In Romans 16:1-2, the apostle Paul wrote: “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea; that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well.”
The word servant in this text is translated from the Greek word “diakonos.” In other passages (Rom 13:4) the word is translated minister; therefore, a diakonos can be both understood as a servant and a minister. Nursing is a ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. We serve the physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs of our neighbors for the glory of God in the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Jesus Christ,
Michael Peek
The Nurse Theologian
