Jesus spoke of the rich man who neglected the beggar at the gate of his estate. Then of the beggar resting in heaven at Abraham's side and the rich man cut off and tormented in hell. The message that challenges me most powerfully in this parable is not the lostness of the lost but the selfishness of those who thought they were saved.

We may be able to debate the theology of Hell but are we willing to help those in torment now? There are so many diseased or orphaned by AIDS. Others face hunger and ignorance resulting from economic domination by the rich or are left with wounds and bereavement resulting from wars often waged with Western weapons. If we can not respond to their needs can we confidently claim to belong to the Kingdom of Heaven ourselves? How will we relate to these people when we meet them there?

And yet medical mission is not just healthcare. The medical mission partner aims along with secularised aid workers to bring relief from poverty, ignorance and disease. As a member of the fallen human race he or she is also liable to bring materialism, pride and new lifestyle diseases. This bad news must be counterbalanced by good news.

The good news is of a Kingdom where all things are restored. Relationships between both God and man and amongst human beings are made new. Working alongside overseas Christians and their churches we may have the reward of seeing them escape from the poverty trap. Living alongside them we can learn from their lifestyle of the dangers of a materialism we have left behind. We can then warn them of the dangers of a purely secular salvation. Jesus came healing but also preaching the Kingdom of Heaven. Without this dual role we shall only encourage others to jump from the frying pan of poverty into the fire of decadent Western materialism.