I remember when David started working at Heath's Restaurant. He was a personality full of life and humor and people liked him. Except me. I had too many deficiencies at the time to like many people at all. One thing David used to do was hold the palm of his hand up to someone as if it were a mirror to remind them of how awesome they were. He and Phillip, to my chagrin, did this back and forth with relentless consistency.
David and I never became friends until years later when we were both pastors. He honored me with an invitation to speak at his associational youth rally, yet he wouldn't be there because he was being led to a church out in New Mexico. So I travelled up and did my best to honor his invitation and then thanked him via Facebook. Since then I've liked some of his posts and he's liked some of mine.
Though our friendship has been sparse and mostly uneventful, I was moved to tears this morning as he went in for surgery to remove a brain tumor. Like hundreds of others, I've followed his pictures and thoughts on Facebook, and from what I can tell, he hasn't ceased to be himself one little bit.
I reflected on a couple of questions this morning. First, what has happened that has brought me to this point in life where I feel enough kinship with David to actually shed tears for him? The answer is found in the Gospel, for an astounding piece of theology is the Gospel's work of not only transforming people into brothers and sisters, but transforming them into people of compassion who are moved to bear one another's burdens.
"For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body," --1Corinthians 12:13.
"For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body," --1Corinthians 12:13.
Secondly, how is David able to maintain such a high watermark of composure during this trying time? This leads us to an even more astounding truth in the Gospel. That God himself would enter into a rebellious creation in the person of Jesus. He would not only live the life of peace we should live, but he would experience the rejection we deserve to receive.
"About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice ..., “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” --Matthew 27:46.
Jesus received the divine abandonment we deserve so we could receive the eternal acceptance of God that He deserved. Therefore when believers are tempted to think God has abandoned them, the truth of the Gospel assures us that He hasn't.
I'm so thankful David is still holding up a mirror. Yet it's not the palm of his hand, it's his peaceful spirit. And its reflecting the goodness of a great Savior.
