Ceaseless Pursuit

"Hmm, even you are among the 'tribe with their heads lowered'?"  My mother remarked somewhat indignantly in Chinese after I casually pulled out my smartphone to check the latest basketball scores while waiting for our food at the restaurant.  I quickly took a glance around, and indeed, my wife and kids were all gazing intently on their phones as well.  My mother happened to not have a smartphone, and when she made the remark, I wasn't sure whether she was upset about our phone use, or that she wished to also have one herself.  I put my phone away and managed to keep it in my pocket through the rest of dinner; however, there wasn't a whole lot of conversation with all those heads lowered.

Our seeming dependence on these phones have become so prevalent that I've heard several versions of a tasteless joke that involves a person who has a phone surgically implanted on his or her hand.  Our phones wake us up with various ringtones, buzzes and pings during the night, and it occupies our attention throughout the day, whether we are in the toilet, in the car, at work, at school, and unfortunately, even at church.  We have become so dependent on our phones, that temporarily removing our children's phones as a discipline measure is now considered cruel and unusual punishment for some.  Our chats, status updates, tweets, posts, selfies and shared photographs of that incredible lobster dinner or chocolate cake are the fruit of our worldly desires, and we crave their transient pleasures that unfortunately do not satisfy.

Although smartphones did not exist when the books of the Bible were written, and our forefathers were not aware of the kind of hold that such devices have on our lives, there are numerous biblical references to things that we ought to be utterly dependent upon, which are worthy of ceaseless pursuit.

Jesus commanded,

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  (Matthew 6:33)

The apostle Paul wrote,

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.  (Philippians 4:4)

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  (Colossians 3:16)

pray without ceasing, (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

So, we need to seek the kingdom of God and pursue righteousness before all else, rejoice unconditionally, have God's word infiltrate every fiber of our being, and pray always.  That takes a lot of time...all of our time.

We ought to resist checking our phones in bed and the first thing when we arise, when we sit around or walk (or drive), and literally having them stuck to our bodies.  Only then will we have room in our hearts to observe the greatest of all commandments,

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  (Deuteronomy 6:5)

Not just some of the time...ALL the time, and EVERYWHERE:

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:7-9)

It's like having God's living word surgically attached to our bodies.

Voluntary Participation

"OK, Dr. Duh.  Looks like that's it for the questionnaire.  You seem to be a good candidate.  The next step will be for you to get the necessary blood tests..."

I listened quietly to the voice of a young woman on the phone.  I may be a doctor, but that doesn't make me enjoy the thought of having needles stuck in my arm any more than most people.

"The test results will take several days, but if you turn out to have a serious infection, we will notify you as soon as we receive a positive test result.  After you clear this phase, we will contact you about the two options that I mentioned earlier..."

Neither of the options that she mentioned sounds like much fun.  For the first option, I will need to get an injection every day for 5 days, which will make me feel ill as if I have influenza, and then I will have to sit for 4 to 6 hours while a machine sucks blood out of one arm and puts it back in the other.  The second option involves me being put under anesthesia while someone sticks a thick needle into my bone to suck out a bunch of stuff, and I was reassured that most people manage to make it back to work after several days.

"Dr. Duh, do you have any questions?"

"No.  Thank you."  Actually, I was sort of wondering how I got myself into this in the first place.

"Great.  I will send a consent form to you by e-mail.  Make sure you read it through, sign it and return to me...and please remember that your participation is purely voluntary.  If at any point you wish to withdraw from this process, please let me know immediately so we can look for other potential matches."

The phone call was from the National Marrow Donor Program.  I gave two blood samples at a church bone marrow drive 20 years ago in response to an urgent plea from the family of a dying young Asian woman with cancer who needed a bone marrow transplant.  The person on the phone informed me that my marrow may have finally met its match in an older man with acute myelogenous leukemia, and that it may potentially save his life.  Unfortunately, donating one's marrow involves some inconveniences, and not a little discomfort.  Needles, medications, more needles, and maybe a couple of holes in my hips.  I was reminded that I don't have to do it, and if I refuse, no one would know, as all records are confidential for my protection.

What am I to do?  For possibly saving someone's life, I guess a few holes in my body is worth it.  Needles...ugh!

Nevertheless, anticipating a bit of discomfort is nothing compared to the earthly experience of our Lord Jesus, who knew from the beginning that he came to do the Father's will:

And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given to me, but raise it up on the last day.  (John 6:39)

Jesus came to save every single soul that the Father has given to him, and he knew well that it was not going to be an easy task:

And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised."  (Luke 9:21-22)

Anticipation of what was to come caused Jesus unspeakable anguish.  He would have to give up himself voluntarily in obedience to the Father's will:

"Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me.  Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done."  (Luke 22:42)

And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  (Luke 22:44)

As I shared news of the phone call with one of our pharmacists, she told me that it's wonderful that I get to save someone's life, and that she also participated in the program and was hoping to get a call some day.

Bring it on.

...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  (Romans 5:8)