This meditation was inspired by a conversation I had last week.
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I met an old friend for coffee the other day. Dan recently retired after being a doctor for forty-one years. I am a retired pastor. Dan asked me what it was like just being a regular member of a church after so many years as the leader. I told him it was very different, but that I was happy for the change. I told him a bit about the church I now attend, and asked him if he had a church home.
“No,” Dan said, “I don’t go to church. I try to live a good life, and I think I am a good person, and that’s pretty much all there is to it, right?”
“Well, yes, Dan, being a good person is certainly important, and a part of what God expects of us,” I said. “However, I think there is more to it. But I can hardly criticize you for not going to church. I never go to a doctor.”
“What?” he said. “Why not?”
I replied, “I have always lived by the old proverb ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away.’ That’s really all there is to it, right? It has been working for me so far. I’m not dead yet and I feel good for my age.”
“Are you crazy?” he exclaimed. “How can you ignore all the advances in medical science? So many things that were a death sentence even thirty years ago are now completely treatable. Just because you feel good doesn’t mean there isn’t something life-threatening going on in your body right now. Even a simple blood test could tell you so much, and perhaps even save your life and give you another twenty years.”
“I appreciate your concern, Dan” I said. “And actually, I do go to the doctor, and I appreciate all that medical science has done for me. I have had annual physicals, and the blood tests have always been okay. But if it wasn’t for two hip replacements, I would hurt with every step I take. And, if I hadn’t had emergency surgery for a detached retina, I’d be blind in one eye. And besides, I prefer bananas to apples.”
“So, why did you say you don’t go to the doctor?” Dan asked.
“I said an apple a day keeps the doctor away, and that was enough. You said you try to be a good person, and that was enough. Both statements are huge oversimplifications that ignore a whole world of life changing and lifesaving information and truth. You expressed your concern for me, and I appreciate that. I am expressing my concern for you. Can I tell you what you might be missing?”
“Sure,” he said.
“Let’s start with death. You saw that all the time in your work. The medical profession can work wonders, but you eventually lose every one of your patients. What happens then? What will happen to you when you die?”
“Well heaven, maybe, or, nothing, I suppose. I don’t know,” Dan said.
I said, “Let’s start with heaven, ‘maybe.’ But where does even that ‘maybe’ come from? You’d see the worn-out old bodies hauled out of the hospital, and you’d see the mangled and dying young bodies of car accident victims hauled in. Scientifically speaking, how do you get from that, to eternal bliss in heaven? And if there is a heaven, how do you get there? Does living a good life take care of it? Or is there more to it? How would you know? Where would you find the answer? You said you don’t know. That’s an honest answer for someone who has never looked into it.”
“All right,” said Dan. “I see what you are saying. So, what that means for me, then, is after death, nothing. That’s what I believe, and I’m okay with that.”
“Are you really okay with nothing?” I asked. “Think about it. You were just telling me what a wonderful wife and family you have, and how much you all enjoy your times together at the cabin. It is clear that you love life. Are you ready for all that to end? Will you ever be ready? You said earlier that a visit to the doctor might find something before it is too late and give me twenty more years of life. I’m not talking about twenty years; Jesus offers years without end. If there is a life after death in heaven, wouldn’t you want to know about it, and be in on it, and not miss out?”
“Yes, I imagine I would.”
“Well, right now you don’t know what you don’t know,” I said. “Maybe there is a life after death, maybe there isn’t. Maybe being a good person is all it takes, maybe it isn’t. Even if being good is all it takes, how good do you have to be? Are you that good? What is the grade God judges you on? How do you know?
“This is worth paying attention to, Dan,” I said. “Let me describe it this way. If I have a tremendous pressure on my chest, with severe pain going down my left arm, and sweating profusely; or, if my face is drooping to one side, I am slurring my words, and my right leg and arm are going limp; would it be a good idea to just say, ‘Oh well, I think I better have another apple today?’ By no means! There is, of course, so much more I would need to know at those times. Perhaps there is more you need to know about this whole matter—so much more than ‘I am a good person, and that should be enough.’”
Dan was quiet for moment. Then he said, “Thanks, but I have to go. I will think about what you said.” And that was the end of the conversation.
I am hoping Dan is willing to talk again sometime.
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Colossians 4:6 — Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
I Peter 3:15 — But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
Ephesians 2:8-9 — For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Acts 16:30-31 — He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.”
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Lord, there are many people in my small world who do not know you. I pray for them. May you enlighten their hearts so they may see their spiritual need, and see Jesus who satisfies it. Use circumstances and other Christians to draw them to yourself. Give me discernment to know when I should talk to them openly about you, as well as wisdom to know what to say. Work in me a genuine love for all who do not know you, and a strong desire to see them become believers and disciples, for your name’s sake. Amen.
–Pastor Kent Groethe, in his 30 Day Prayer Book
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