We all want to see where heaven and earth collide. I pray
sometimes for the miraculous to occur in the lives of my patients. I wait, expectantly watching to see what will come. There are difficult times,
when I am fighting with all my strength to save a life in a complicated surgery,
or in a horrible delivery, I find myself crying out aloud for Him to make
something amazing happen to bring resolution to the emergency. I, too, long to
see great revelations of the unseen hand of God.
Humans always have yearned for such. Those circumstances are often
rare, that is one reason why they are so exciting. There were some times when
the miraculous seemed more common, such as during the earthly ministry of
Christ, or during the early church. Still, even in the days of Christ, when He
was doing awesome things which had never been seen before, they asked Him to
perform more miracles to prove Himself. With God standing among them, they
still apparently wanted more amazement than healing of the sick and raising the
dead. Heaven and earth were wrapped up in His frame, yet, it wasn’t enough for
most. But there were some, who saw divinity beneath the human skin. And as
their eyes were opened, their hearts were changed. Other miracles were
happening, but the greatest ones were unseen in the souls of men.
I remember when it happened for me. I had grown up in a church,
but there was no substance to it for me. But that night as I sat alone and saw
the lines of cocaine on the table behind me, and my friends wasted in empty
pleasure around me – He opened my eyes to more. I realized that everyone around
me was going down a path of destruction and hopelessness. And I didn’t want to
walk any further down it with them. I wanted a Savior. I had never wanted that
before. I had wanted a ride to heaven, avoidance of hell, and some “genie” type
help along the way, however I didn’t want anybody with actual authority over my
life. But in the external haze and beginning of internal clarity, I began to
understand that if God really was legitimate, that He was worth a life lived.
I started to realize that all the things of earth weren’t what
they had promised to be, and that the neglected things of heaven were more than
I had ever imagined. It was as if I had never had eyes to see before, as if the
world around me were new. I grew to understand the work of Christ – how
literally heaven and earth came together in Him to bridge a gap between the two.
I had heard about the work of Christ thousands of times, but it never became
real to me until then. His sacrifice for my acceptance, His payment for my
debt. Love so far reaching was almost unbelievable. But amazingly true.
I still want to see great and glorious things. Miracles and
wonders, divine aid and assistance…but sometimes I forget that the greatest works
of God are being wrought in the hearts of men. That is what I want to see more
than anything else – hearts that come to see the unseen God and are changed by
Him. The God who became seen as Christ, walked the earth, died to save the
people on it, and then left the Spirit as a guide. He brought salvation and
grace to the sinful who had no possibility of obtaining it on their own. Justification
was brought to us through Christ, who died undeservingly, appeasing the wrath
of God that we should have borne. Only
God could make heaven and earth collide with a plan so full of love and mercy, and
yet satisfying justice. Only God.
Amen!!!
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