My recent 4-days in a hospital bed were revealing. They were a no-choice life-interruption to be served, a time of childlike helplessness, a brief season of switched roles, a hiatus of normal activities and responsibilities. I’ve written before about the quality of TLC received during my stay. On reflection, it’s eye-opening that a messy, undignified event (such as mine) could be the portal to the receiving of so much readily available assistance. From Sue’s instant emergency management mode, to the hotel’s housekeeping manager kneeling on the bathroom floor beside me, patting my shoulder, repeating over and over, “You’re doing good, honey. You’re doing good, honey.” to the EMT’s rapid arrival and lightning-quick transfer to an ambulance, etc. What transpired was a 4-day Olympics-worthy succession of the loveliest, ablest people providing the comfort and support they were trained to provide, plus so much more.
This recalls one of Jesus’ many efforts to describe the Father’s love for us, His children. Here is Eugene Peterson’s rendering of Jesus’ words:
“You (parents who are evil)* are at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better (than you are at this parenting business)*?”Matthew 7:11, MSG. *parentheses added
I see a parallel here. It’s not just for parents, but in this scenario, for hospital personnel. The services they provided were not simply perfunctory but were infused with individual compassionate humanity. Professional, yes, but far from impersonal or robotic. For me, everyone, from the housekeeping staff who came to sanitize the room, to transport personnel who came to fetch me (and return me from) for tests, to the dining room staff who came to consult with me about my meal choices (Yes, choices), to the nurses, technicians, aides, Emergency Department staff, to the doctors – it was a virtual parade of warm, caring, often funny, men and women doing their job with style and personality.
But here’s the point Jesus is making. Regardless of the completeness of our parental or professional devotion to children and tasks, God is better, more capable, more committed, more ready and willing to help, and more filled with unchanging, forever love than any of these could ever be. Jesus made reference to ‘a friend that sticks closer than a brother,’ meaning, as Matthew, and later, James, put it: “There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle.” James 1:17, MSG.
No. I would never have chosen those circumstances to get through that portal, but it is sweet on that side, too. And to think God exceeds all our best efforts, sticks the landing every time. I’m blessed with a loving church family par excellence and a blessed child of the Father! Filled to the brim! PD
