from the book Champions … Plus Choosing Life by Gary DeVaul Mark was in a conversation with a friend when the friend asked a simple question that all of us have asked through the aftermath of his accident. “Mark, how do you remain so positive? Your attitude is remarkable; your recovery is amazing to me.” In and out of formal ministry I’ve heard this question asked of others, and of course like all of you, I’ve asked it myself. The answer to the question can be of great importance to all of us in our daily lives, in our struggles great and small. When I was studying at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, the late Dr. Paul Jewett preached a sermon on 2 Corinthians 4:7-12: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you.” A few years later my mentor, Dr. Raymond Beckering at Garden Grove Community Church, chose to preach on that same passage at my ordination. He entitled his sermon “Cracked Pots.” Boy, was he ever right on! Ray said, “Earthen vessels – well, that’s us, isn’t it?” Earthen vessels crack sooner or later, don’t they? And, of course, when they do, that which they contain comes pouring out. That’s what we mean when we see people being tested and we say, “Now we’ll see what they’re made of.” And, of course, we do . . . if we pay attention. On one occasion in the hospital, the machine that was dispensing Mark’s pain medication ceased to function. It was supposed to beep when that happened, but for some reason the contraption failed to beep and Mark got behind the pain curve. The medication they were giving him exits your body very rapidly, and it takes some time before the new dose can catch up to the pain. That’s what it means to be behind the pain curve. Because of the brutality of Mark’s accident and injury, his left arm was pulled off at the shoulder rather than being cleanly severed. In the process the nerves and vascular system were shredded, and the resulting pain in recovery was severe. As the painkiller was ebbing and the pain was increasing, Mark asked me to readjust his pillows. I did, but it didn’t help. Soon the veins in his forehead were bulging, and his eyes were filling with tears. I headed for the nurses’ station, only to be told to wait a minute while the nurse finished her telephone call – something about putting “a leg of lamb in the oven.” Well, that didn’t go over very well, and my legendary impatience flared! Suffice it to say, the nurse was there in a jiffy. She fixed the machine and dispensed the pain medication, and we waited what seemed an eternity for the medication to kick in. The pain increased for awhile, but in his suffering Mark didn’t curse or carry on. He just asked to hold my hand, and we both prayed. Now that’s what Mark is made of. There, through the cracks in the earthen vessel, I could see the “transcendent power of God” doing what the transcendent power does best – it transcends! It asked only for the hand of a friend, and it gracefully transcended the pain and agony until the medicine kicked in. Oh, by the way, I apologized to the nurse. She replied, “Honey, I’ve been dealing with idiots all my life. Don’t worry about it.” She knew a cracked pot when she saw one. We learned about machines that day. We watched them carefully from then on. But we also learned about being struck down without being destroyed. The transcendent power never imposes itself upon us. But if we choose to tap into it, it never fails us either. It is the choosing that is important. The power is activated by our prayerful choice. “I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So chose life” (Deut. 30:19b). This is part of what the apostle Paul meant when he said, “Always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (2 Cor. 4:10). We often suffer as Jesus suffered, but if we choose as He chose, there is resurrection as well. When asked by our friend how he manages to be cheerful and have such a positive attitude, Mark simply replied, “What’s the alternative? We can choose to go up, or we can allow the gravity of the situation to take us down.” Mark chose life. Sometimes that’s not easy. Often when confronted with obstacles as challenging as losing an arm, good manners and cultural norms have to be put aside in order to function, and a well-honed sense of humor is important. One evening we went to the Five-O Shore Road restaurant in the village. Mark ordered his favorite entrée, a hamburger. Usually, if I’m nearby, I will remember to cut his food. This time I forgot, and here was this huge hamburger wiggling and squiggling, not wanting to be lifted with one hand. I looked up from my meal to see that Mark had stuck his fork into the burger and, with his face just a few inches from his food, was holding the handle of the fork with his teeth, while cutting the all-American meal with a knife in his right hand! Not a pretty sight, you say? Well, of course, I was embarrassed for him, and I moved quickly to cut the thing in half. “What are you doing?” I asked Mark. He spit out the fork and replied, “I’m trying to kill it before I eat it.” The good people sitting next to us had been eavesdropping. They could see that Mark was struggling with one arm, and they were captivated by sympathy. Upon hearing his declaration of burgercide, they were disarmed and erupted in laughter. Attitude has to do with how we live moment by moment, without struggling to choose our reaction incident by incident. Through years of prayerfully working on his attitude, Mark has learned to live moment by moment, choosing life over death. And the transcendent power shows forth, and we are amazed. By the way, humor is a by-product of God’s grace, an absolutely essential element in choosing to choose life. Now don’t get me wrong. Canonizing Mark might please him, but I doubt it. He’s still as full of stuffing as a Christmas turkey! He eats way too much ice cream. His cell phone has become an appendage of his ear. He’s addicted to his computer, and his playful sense of humor borders on the mischievous at times. And, of course, living with someone who always chooses life can be a real pain in the neck. But then we’re all cracked pots, aren’t we? By the way, when your days get sticky, just visualize our buddy killing that hamburger with a fork in his mouth. The transcendent power will laugh, and so will you! Cracked pots every one . . .
Posted on: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 22:13:39 +0000
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