Holding firmly connotes that something can slip away, can be stolen, not to be careless or carefree. It can mean knowing the value of what we are holding, that is something being precious and finally to contend for…Jude 3. Simply, our faith is the belief we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. We claim (profess) this and also practice it. Thus it becomes our profession. But there are so many things though legitimate that seek to make us lose grip of this profession. One of these is “our noble profession” – Medicine or Medical practice. 

We all know how many of us, it has taken right from medical school and to its practice. So much that if one is asked what is your profession? The readily available answer will be medical practice. Why not Christianity?

Medical practice should not loosen our hold to the faith we profess, rather it should tighten it. Recently a friend told me in writing about an article titled: “The Athlete who won gold but loss God.” This Christian athlete won many medals in more than one Olympic Games. Surprisingly it was not the athletics that made him lose God. In fact his faith in Christ was strongest at the peak of his profession. 

He took time off from tracks to preach Christ in church, among youth groups and in the electronic media. He was also said to have refused to participate in any competition that was fixed on a Sunday as this will interfere with his Sunday worship. To him, Christ was more than athletics. It was after his retirement from athletics that he lost God. According to him, he never had time as an athlete to really question or think about his faith in Christ. But after retirement he had a lot of time and was able to reflect on that and came to a conclusion that God is not real. Today he is an atheist. This athlete never holds firmly to the faith he professed!

Holding firmly to the faith we profess empowers us to come boldly before God, gives divine rest, enables us reign with Christ, access to the secrets of God and Spiritual fruitfulness. The dangers of not holding firmly results in being cut off from Christ and cast away just like the athlete.

We have every reason to hold fast our faith as medical practitioners because of the many things we encounter in our practice. Nothing should weaken our faith in Christ, the greatest physician. More than ever before we need to heed this important instruction: let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

Dr. Adewuyi Sunday
Clinical and Radiation Oncologist
ABUTH,Zaria.