Many persons struggle with what to do with their lives. The search for, cum discovery of, purpose has been a perennial problem plaguing mankind. It has been the subject of many a wise man's preoccupation, the object of many postulations; much has been said and written about it, much shall yet come into existence on the matter.
For him, however, that had never been a challenge. He’d always known just what he was going to do—become a physician. From the moment he saw his first sick person—the cousin who went from chubby to skinny in a few days because of an ailment—he'd resolved to stem the tide of sickness and disease. She eventually went on to recover but was never quite the same afterwards.
He spent a long time studying under the best physician in the realm. And just when everyone thought he was done, he left the land of his birth and travelled many miles over land and sea to further drink from the fountain of an eminent Arabian doctor. They were the best in the field of medicine, and he wanted to be nothing less.
Finally, he returned to Jerusalem and set up practice. In a matter of months, Luke was the one everyone went to when they took ill.
It was one of his patients that first gave him the news: there was a new doctor in town. Well, The Physician was not exactly in town but some itinerant fellows were proselytising about him and healing the sick to boot. Their Master was not only a physician but also saviour, they claimed. He had died (after being crucified) and resurrected. He was also going to return as king. It was he who empowered them to perform the wondrous acts that were becoming synonymous with their avowals.
The man had gone on to raise his robe, pull down his knickers and show him: the perianal hematoma Luke had been managing for upwards of two years had disappeared. The small lump located on the outside edge of the anus had receded. And they had not even administered any drugs—just being touched by the shadow of one of The Physician's followers had wrought the wonder.
Luke would have found the tale hard to believe if anybody had narrated it. But right before him was incontrovertible evidence borne by his own patient. Strike that, ex-patient.
Throughout that day and many after, Luke pondered how such a thing could be. All the theories he came up with fell short, he decided to go see for himself.
It was the penultimate life-redefining decision. The last was to join the adherents to The Way. He'd found that sending illness packing was only one in a gamut of logic-upturning things they were doing.
He became part of the movement and so actively committed to it, his medical practice got subsumed.
Then The Spirit spoke in a meeting and separated Paul and Barnabas for a special assignment. When their ship set sail, Luke was aboard. He sensed it was a milestone in his personal journey.
For three odd decades, their ever-changing team preached, travelled and performed miracles. They also got thrown in jail, received beatings and had close shaves with death. And then Paul ended up in Rome, necessitated by his appeal to Caesar. The Jewish apostle to the Gentiles had taken that course in Caesarea when faced with the gambit of hateful countrymen and a green Festus.
Two years had passed since they landed in the capital of the empire and Paul was still under house arrest. Word somehow got out that the tall, slim, young-looking brother who spoke little was a physician, people began to consult him.
One of them was a high-ranking Roman official—a Prefect. He heard the gospel, was cut to the heart and got converted. His family, a wife, three kids and a houseful of servants, followed suit.
Unlike some others, the man was not one to hide his new found convictions. He wanted to share with as many as possible. But first he had many questions about Jesus—and the gospel. He sent for Luke several times.
It was his inquisitiveness that got Luke looking over the past. He hit on just what would help the man.
He picked a quill, dipped it in a pot of ink and began to write on a parchment…
‘Most Excellent Theophilus:
Many others have tried to give a report of the things that happened among us to complete God’s plan. What they have written agrees with what we learned from eyewitnesses, who saw these events from the beginning, and ministers, that served God by telling people His message. I studied it all carefully from the beginning. Then I decided to write it down for you in an organized way. I did this so that you can be sure that what you have been taught is true…’
Post Script:
The last part of this piece is how Luke (author of Luke and Acts of the Apostles) began his narrative on all that Jesus began to do and teach...
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