Orphan and Widow: Ruminations on the Heart

Every heart has two parts- the part that pumps and the part that loves. If you are going to spend your life fixing hearts, then you better learn the process of both.

{When Crickets Cry}

Charles Martin

I've been virtually out of town most of the last month (I know, I know, not an excuse) and during my travels have had the time to ponder the heart- both organ and soul. Never would I have imagined that I would be working somewhere such as Heart & Lung Transplant, and I remain curious as to how the Lord will use this knowledge in foreign missions one day (considering the fact that we feel called to dirt floors, thatched homes, birthing babies in the field, and sewing up trauma accidents that could not make it to the nearest city). But, I trust that He will, and am thankful that He has given me a ministry in it now. Daily I have the opportunity to enter in with people from all walks of life with one common need: a new heart. Whether their illness has come on over the years or in the blink of an eye, many are knocking on death's door, and many are returning to knock again.

One of my observations has been how receiving a new physical heart is similar to the spiritual transformation that takes place when we are given a new heart in Christ. "And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh..." Ezek 11:19 It is ironic that when someone's physical heart begins to fail, it enlarges greatly, becomes flabby and inefficient, and the casing around it (the pericardium) also hardens incredibly, causing an even greater workload on the failing heart. We all have spirtually malfunctioning hearts that work in a similar manner. When we become aware that we are in need of salvation, we begin to work harder, yet our work is inefficient, our spiritual muscle is flabby and yet becomes hardened at the same time. Without Christ exchanging our hearts of stone for a heart infused with His Spirit, we are also as good as dead. Spiritually we appear as those who physically have heart failure. Therefore, a heart transplant is literally our only hope for Life.

Many times patients stay with us for months and months on end waiting for a new heart. You watch their condition slowly deteriorate over time, until the light of hope they had when they were first "listed" becomes nothing more than a dim flicker. And you feel guilty because despite the hope that you had at the beginning, reality is reality, and you've seen many more walk this slow road until they are at the point of no return, too sick to survive the surgery. Then- out of the blue- a call is made, the workup done, and surgery complete! And you feel more guilty for doubting that God could (or would) perform the miraculous for this person. After a few days, the person comes back over to us and the transformation is amazing. Skin that was once pale, cold, and blue is now pink and warm with life. The wet cough and shallow breathing is replaced with beautifully clear sounds of life inhaling and exhaling through this new organ. And, most amazingly, the flicker of the eyes that was barely evident before is now ablaze with joy of new life. Is the new heart we are given in Christ any less miraculous when The Great Exchange takes place within us? We literally are transformed from a vessel that is weakened and dying into one infused with hope and joy and freedom!

It is not as if receiving a new heart automatically cures one's condition that lead to the heart failure in the first place, just as receiving salvation in Christ does not remove our broken condition of sin. Following transplant, patients have great responsibility to care for the gift that they have been given. They are on up to 20 medications multiple times through the day. Immunosuppressants make them incredibly susceptible to catching infections, and not taking even one of them places them at great risk for rejecting their new heart. In the same way, when a sinner comes to Christ, they open themselves up to spiritual warfare that they must now "arm themselves" against, lest they become terribly infected with sin, or worse- reject the renewed heart that was given them. We are told in Romans to expect famine and persecution and danger and isolation because of our faith. Although we can never lose our salvation, it is clear that we also must do things to protect the new heart that has been given us. We must remain in Scripture, we must commune with the Father in prayer, and we must surround ourselves with likeminded believers who share in our struggles and fight the battle with us. These are not things we must doto maintain our salvation (which would be a gospel of works), but they are additional gifts that are given us to assist in our sanctification- or process of becoming like Christ (a gospel of grace). In giving us a new heart, the Lord gives us a renewed spirit that desires Him and more of Him, until our cups are overflowing! As it says in Deuteronomy 8:3 "He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord."

So, all that to say...not sure of the plans and purposes of the Lord, but I know that I am to "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep" (Rom 12:15). He is good to transform me in His perfect love, to prepare me for those perfect plans, and to craft me daily into His likeness. Sometimes I need to remind myself that I am just along for the ride. Yes, the work is hard. But the entering in is what makes it a joy.

Through the pictures below, I invite you to enter in to the rich goodness that God showed Derek and I on our 2-week roadtrip out West last month. The beauty was breathtaking, and I hope to get a post out about it soon.