I saw Jesus while I was in South Sudan.
Recently I was in South Sudan visiting IDES Partners, South Sudan African Mission (SSAM). IDES provided funding for food distributions and mobile medical clinics in remote villages across northern South Sudan. Throughout the week we worked closely with SSAM Team Leader, John, who is also a medical doctor.
Dr. John was born in one of those remote villages. While his story of coming to Christ, becoming a doctor, and leading the team in South Sudan is an incredible one, what I was most impressed with was how he treated the patients he and his team were caring for. I’m not just talking about how he medically cared for people (it was obvious his team was very professional and capable). What stuck out was how he TREATED the people.
I commented to Wayne, one of the team members I was with, how impressive it was to see Dr. John’s humility and the way he truly cared about the people he was helping. Wayne responded, “He is being Jesus to them.”
He really was. And by many standards he could have had a different approach. You see, Dr. John has a high level of education; he has traveled to numerous countries; he leads a well-known and respected organization in South Sudan. He could have been consumed by his own self-importance.
But I was struck by his humility. When he told of people relying on witchcraft to cure them, or of basic medical care that was unknown in some of these villages, it was never with an air of superiority. It was with genuine care, love, and hope for his patients.
During these mobile medical clinics he was also very busy. He had many responsibilities and executed them all with excellence. However; when someone wanted a word with him, he looked them in the eye and talked with them. When a momma wanted him to look at her baby, he stopped what he was doing to play with the baby, check the little one’s temperature, and wipe the baby’s nose. He treated everyone like Jesus would have treated them.
Galatians 6:3 says,
“If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.”
By all standards, Jesus, even while in human form, was far superior to everyone he came into contact with. He came from greater riches, had far more knowledge, and was much more powerful than every person he met. Yet he treated everyone with compassion; he played with children, he fed the hungry, healed the sick, and touched the untouchable.
Do we look down on others? Do our degrees make us more important? Are we too busy to stop and talk with those who need a few moments of our time?
I hesitate to compare Dr. John to Jesus, but at the same time Jesus is exactly who we should be trying to imitate. Dr. John’s example of compassion and humility was refreshing to see. It also serves to challenge and encourage us to consider how we treat those who might be considered “lower” than we are. Because as Christians, we’re called to care for others as Jesus did.
-David Stine, IDES Executive Director