(The Lord God says) "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules." Ezekiel 36:26-27
Years ago in one of my parishes, I spent some months watching one of
the ladies in my congregation die.
She was, in the scheme of things, relatively young, in her early 40s. She was
dying because she had a bad heart. It simply couldn't do the job. Doctors
couldn't change things. Sure, they gave her drugs, a host of medications to keep
her going, but all of those prescriptions were only temporary. Some of them made
her feel nauseated and physically drained.
She was dying.
She knew she would never be there for the weddings of some of her children. She
would never hold a grandchild on her lap and get to spoil him.
She agonized for days about how much of a goodbye she should give to her
husband. She had things to say, but she didn't want to add to his worry. She was
dying. He was going to be alone. She was dying, and there was no cure.
Then, in a different state, a young man had an accident.
For the young man there were no farewells to his family or friends. There was no
time to prepare. There was an accident, and he was gone. His wife donated his
organs. The member of my church got a call. "Be at the hospital in an hour. We
have a tissue match: a young man. We have a new heart for you."
She was there. The surgery worked. She went home. She had to keep taking
medicines, but different medicines now: medicines to stop her body from
rejecting a new heart. But she came home. She came home with color in her
cheeks. She came home able to move around, slowly at first, but she could
actually get up out of a chair. She came home. She came home with a future. That
young man had died; unintentionally, he had died, so she might live.
Within my lady friend there grew a great desire to know more about this man who
had given her life.
She was grateful for what she had received, although grateful is hardly a strong
enough word. Every breath she took, every day she lived -- was because of his
heart.
I tell you that story, because if you have the ability to understand the
feelings of that woman, you can understand why we should be thankful to the Lord
Jesus for the intentional sacrifice He made, which has cleansed us from our sins
and saved our souls.
You can understand why you should be grateful, since our eternity has been won
by Him offering up His holy, precious blood and because of His innocent
suffering and death.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks that because of the Savior's sacrifice and
the Holy Spirit's work, I have been called to saving faith and forgiven. Grant
that my gratitude will find expression in unending praise to my Redeemer and
Lord. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.
Pastor Ken Klaus Lutheran Hour Ministries All rights reserved; not to be duplicated without permission.
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