Organ Donor

Sherri and I went to the Annual Donor Family Reception event this past Sunday. It was held at the LaVista Convention Center which is a fantastic new facility out by the new Cabela's just off I-80. The event drew about 500 people and was very touching.

Three families spoke about how organ, tissue or cornea donors had changed their lives. In a couple of the families the donation had actually saved lives. Little Amanda got a new liver, and baby Watson got tissue to build a new aorta. Without these life-giving donations, these families would have experienced heart-breaking losses.

I can't really describe here adequately how much emotion these families spoke with, how thankful they are for such a life-giving gift. Tears flowed. Touching slide shows with smiling children reminded us how precious and awesome life is- especially when it's the life of your child.

At the same time though, there is another side of the coin. Some family did experience loss to make these donations. Yet they made something good come out of their tragedy, their great loss. And at this event, 40 or so organ donor reciepients from years past came forward to honor and give thank-you plaques to the 75 or more families who had loved ones who made life-giving organ donations. It was a wonderful and powerful time, filled with tears and hugs and thank yous.

The whole event was a testimony to the goodness that sometimes we can muster as humans. I couldn't help but think that every worship service we take part in should be just as powerful, just as touching, just as emotional - even more so really. The analogy is obvious. Jesus died so that we might live. We have a new lease on eternal life thanks to Him!

So why do we take that gift so lightly? We all do really. We grumble over getting up to go to church, we skip service opportunities, the list goes on from there. Don't we know we were more than sick, we were dead? Do we really understand, can we comprehend the magnitude of what our new heart means? Why is this gift so easily taken for granted - in my opinion by all of us?

I'm not saying we need to be basket cases, but rather that we need more power and joy in our singing, more heart in our confession, more attention in our hearing, more gratitude in our prayers- you can add to this list. Our gift was great- so our response should be great as well. I want to encourage each of us to truely consider the cost of our gift and respond accordingly. By God's great gifts of the Holy Spirit and faith we can do just that. Each Sunday should be for us from now on a life-giving Donor Reception event! See you fellow reciepients in church this Sunday.

Blest Regards,
Keith