The Good Doctor

The Good Doctor is a new medical drama TV show that recently premiered on ABC. It is about a young man named Shaun Murphy who's dream is to be a surgeon. He is a brilliant person who is equally kind. He also has autism and savant syndrome which gives him near photographic recall, and the ability to notice small and minute details and changes. Before I begin with what excellent lessons there are to learn, let me give some background on the show. Shaun, the main character, is from a small town and had a troubled childhood. His father was physically and verbally abusive to him and his younger brother Steve. His brother was the only one who every truly stood up for and looked out for him. One time, after their dad had yelled at Shaun and incidentally killed Shaun's pet rabbit, his brother decided that was enough and ran away from their parents and took Shaun with him knowing it was the only way to keep him safe.

After some time of living on their own in an old school bus in a junkyard, the two had gotten used to their situation. Shaun didn't totally understand exactly why they were where they were, but he loved and trusted his brother. Steve would always do anything he could for Shaun, making sure he knew how special and smart he was. One day, while playing with some other kids, Steve fell and died in an accident right in front of Shaun. From that time on, Shaun stayed with a man named Richard who took care of him and helped raise him. Now, Shaun is grown up and is self-sufficient enough to live on his own and wants to work as a surgeon at the prestigious hospital where his guardian Richard is the president.

My wife and I started watching the show this past weekend and before the first episode was even halfway over were hooked. Shaun is almost instantly one of the most likable characters I have seen on screen. He is portrayed wonderfully by actor Freddie Highmore all the way down to the personality and mannerisms he uses in the role. The rest of the cast and characters are good as well. Not all of the doctors in the hospital are happy that the president hired someone with Autism to be a surgeon. Some attempt to bully Shaun to the point that he would give up, while others genuinely want to take the time to get to know him and better understand him.

I think the same is true for many of us. Often, no matter where you are, it is not hard to find someone who doesn't want you around. They will nitpick and discourage what you do in hopes that it will get to you. But, at that same time, God brings people into our lives that will encourage us, and truly want to see us do well, and will do their very best to see us through. Claire is someone who does that for Shaun. She has never met anyone before who is like Shaun, and at first jumps to conclusions and wants little to do with him. But then over time, she can't help but be curious about Shaun and who he is and why he is there. She makes an effort to be his friend and is one of the few doctors in the hospital who actively tries to get to know him.

Both Claire, and Shaun's brother Steve remind me of what we are told in Philippians 2:4. It says that we should not look to our own interests, but to the interests of others. They make it a priority to reach out to and love Shaun. This is not done out of pity for him, but because they genuinely care for him and who he is.

Shaun is a very interesting character as well because he is more unique in that he cannot always understand why many of the other characters in the show say and do the things they do. For example, one character often uses sarcasm with him. When Shaun asks what "sarcasm" is, he is told that it means you say one thing, but mean another. Many of us understand this because to us, it is a joke, but to Shaun, that is lying and he wonders why the person doesn't just say what they are thinking or mean.

One thing I love about Shaun is that though he may not be able to easily understand emotions and human interaction the same way the rest of us do, he still deeply cares for and wants to help people. In the first episode, he is asked why he wants to be a surgeon. After a moment of thinking, he responds by saying, that when both his bunny and brother died he could not save them. "It's sad," he says, continuing by saying that they couldn't grow up to have children of their own to love. He says that he wants to make that possible for other people. Shaun does not let the tragedies and heartaches of his past get the best of him and bury them. He takes and accepts them, letting them define who he wants to become. Can we do the same with the trials that we encounter throughout our lives as Christians? God gives us the opportunity each day to define who we are when bad things that happen to us and, what we do when those things do take place. Good or bad, God can use each and every experience we have to glorify Him and how great He is. What will you do with your story?

God bless! 😃
HisDisciple319