HEART
FIX

Topics: Abundant Life; Behavior; Conduct; Freedom; Fulfillment; Fullness; Gratitude; Healing; Heart; Hope; Lifestyle; Sanctification

References: Ezekiel 11:19; Romans 6:6–11; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:22–24; Colossians 3:5–10; Hebrews 9:13–15; 1 Peter 1:23

From his hospital bed on the eve of open-heart surgery, Pastor Bruce McIver asked his cardiologist, Dr. Dudley Johnson, “Can you fix my heart?”

The physician said, “Sure.” Then he walked away.

Following the twelve-hour surgery, McIver asked Johnson, “In light of the blocked arteries that I had when I checked into the hospital, how much blood supply do I now have?”

“All you’ll ever need,” replied the terse surgeon.

Upon his discharge from the hospital, McIver’s wife, Lawanna, asked the doctor, “What about my husband’s future quality of life?”

Dr. Johnson paused and then said, “I fixed his heart; the quality of his life is up to him.”

—Bruce McIver, Stories I Couldn’t Tell While I Was a Pastor (Wolgemuth and Hyatt, 1991)