But here's the thing that struck me: we never knew the names of the pilots or the medical personnel onboard that helicopters. O how I wish I could thank them and tell them all that they accomplished--allowed two girls to go home to their families, to go to high school, to go to school dances and basketball games and Young Life and graduation. And now to go to college.
Do they know? Do they have any idea how many people they have blessed through their faithful actions that Friday night a year ago? Probably not. Surely not. But God knows. We know. And while we can't thank them personally, we thank our Father and ask Him--Lord, whisper encouragement deep into their hearts. Give them strength and steadiness and wisdom and safety and courage as they do their job. Might they see not with their eyes but with their hearts that every patient is a beloved daughter or son or sister or brother or mother or father. And might they know that every life they save is a life restored to those families...for another day to love, to laugh, to sing, to hug, to share.
Yet, isn't that the case with everyone of us? How can we begin to know the ways God will use us in someone else's life? Who even this very moment might need for us to be their lifesaver? No, maybe not on a medical helicopter or in an emergency room, but perhaps to give that desperately needed word of encouragement. Or to be the arms and feet and hands of Christ and give that hug of love or that tear of empathy or that tender touch of healing or that quiet offer of grace and forgiveness.
We might never know. We will probably never know. But God knows and that is His call. To love others relentlessly. Love till it hurts...and then beyond. Love to exhaustion...and then beyond. Love like He loved...without expecting a thank you or a pat on the back.
Like those medical personnel, we may never know the difference we make. We may never hear an audible thank you. But God speaks in ways deeper than words. No love is ever lost or wasted or missed. It is received and absorbed and God will use it and grow it in places and in people we may not ever know this side of heaven. And somehow, in the end, I have to think He will take all that hurt and exhaustion and suffering and pain and bind it all up with His love and and enlarge it into something new and beautiful and huge. Just as "death is swallowed up in victory," so His love swallows and transforms all that pain and suffering.
So Father, help us take our eyes off ourselves and our petty problems and put them on You and on those around us who need Your love and Your touch. Show us someone to encourage. Someone to help. Someone to forgive. Someone to love like You love.
And then help us do it again...and again...and again without counting the cost. Because You didn't. O Lord Jesus, thank You. To God be the glory.
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