Grace and Peace

I looked into the face of an hours old child today and thought of the creative majesty of God.  Gabriel Isaac Copenhaver is a miracle resting in a hospital bassinet. He is made in the image of God and is dearly loved by his heavenly Father.  Every time I go to the hospital to greet the newborn child of one of our members, I can’t help but think of David’s stirring words:

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body

and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!

Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it.

You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,

as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

You saw me before I was born.

Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out

before a single day had passed.

(Psalm 139:13-16 New Living Translation)

Today I was put to the test by that activity which Americans love to hate:  WAITING.  I showed up for a 9:00 AM pre-op appointment at the hospital and waited until a clerk was ready to see me at 9:35 AM.  After answering her insurance questions, I was sent back to wait some more until finally at 10:10 AM I was ushered back to the nurses for blood work, an EKG and more questions.  Along the way, I was thinking of other things that I needed to be doing while a tide of impatience began to rise in me.  Somewhere between the waiting room and the nurse’s cubicle, I remembered Paul’s words in Romans 12:12, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

That was a needed attitude adjustment.  Instead of fretting over the time I had to wait, I could exude some joy and be a blessing to the people I met.  I asked the nurse how she was doing.  She told me she had a nagging headache, so I asked her if she would like me to pray for her.  She seemed surprised, but said, “Yes, please do.” After I prayed and we finished the business at hand, she escorted me to anesthesiology.  When we arrived at our destination, she thanked me for caring enough to ask about her and pray for her.  Then she promised to pray for me and my upcoming surgery.

Waiting for the anesthesiologist was easy now, because I was focused on Romans 12:12.  Since there was no one to talk with while I waited, I decided to use the quiet time to pray. After talking to the “knock-out doc” it was off to x-ray where I waited again for a chest film.  While waiting this time, I encountered a brand new radiology tech named, Elizabeth, who was at her first day on the job.

She was nervous, but somehow we survived the ordeal and she got her two views of the old chest done (even though she had to redo the bi-lateral view due to a slight procedural error).  I was able to patiently encourage her and wish her well.  Since she was new to New Bern, I asked her if she had found a church yet.  She had not and I was able to recommend Temple Baptist to her and told her to look up the PA from my ortho practice who is a member there.  On the way out, I made a mental note to ask the PA (who is a committed follower of Christ) to follow up with her.

At the end of my two hour plus stay on the pre-op tour, I left refreshed rather than upset, because God’s Word had done its rebuking and refining work in my heart.  WAITING doesn’t have to be a terrible experience; it can be a time of personal revival.

But those who wait on the LORD

Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

If we adopt a biblical worldview with the Bible as the sole authority for faith and practice, everything from abortion to zoology must be examined in the light of Scripture.  That worldview is stable…established on the foundation of Truth…not subject to the winds of change which emanate from a society in flux.  Then we will no longer be “double-minded…unstable in all (our) ways.” [James 1:8 NKJV]

Baseball Hall-of-Fame legend Yogi Berra has this advice about following the crowd:

Don't always follow the crowd. Nobody goes there anymore.

It's too crowded.

How I wish that were true. More often than not, people do choose to follow the crowd and as a society, we continually sink toward the lowest common denominator. Mediocrity and worse has become the standard of behavior.

When an individual chooses to live with high moral standards, preferring civility to crudeness, and performing his or her work with competence and dedication, they stand out like a beacon in the darkest night. Where is excellence? Where is respect for others and self-respect?

Instead of penning an article bemoaning the low standards of our day, I want to offer some suggestions of ways we can “raise the bar” in our own lives and those that we might influence:

1. Honestly evaluate where you are. It is time for us to confront the truth about the condition of our own life and assess where we need to make corrections.

2. Learn to value others. It is easy to become fixated on our own situation and become inwardly focused. We need to lift our eyes and see the worth and dignity of others…and also see their needs and let compassion turn our hearts outward.

3. Practice the way of love. In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he writes: Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT) What more really needs to be said?

We have a mistaken notion that love is an emotion. Actually love is a choice…and love is demonstrated by action. If we could get hold of that and realize the implications of the full expression of love, we would have a kinder and gentler society.

If we want to see love like that demonstrated, all we have to do is look at God. “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8 NLT) Talk about “raising the bar”…God is the ultimate standard!

What I am advocating as an antidote for a sick society is godly living that emanates from a growing relationship with Jesus. What will you do…follow the crowd or follow Jesus?