June 1, 2005

  Greetings in Jesus' Name.  Today I

walked into what was supposed to be

a hospital.  No, I wasn't sick, I was

attending a conference there.  But, had

I not been told previously that this was

as hospital, I might not have known it. 

  There was not much to distinguish it as

a hospital.  I saw no obvious patients,

I saw no registration desks, and not

anyone who looked like a doctor.

  I did however see a large multi-story

cylinder of glass towering over the

parking area.  Inside this monolithic

fixture was a massive chandelier

about the size of a small motor home.

  Inside, the walls were trimmed with

finely polished wood and various

extravagant materials.  The feel was

that of a great concert hall or palace.

I felt slightly out of place walking into

this architectural art piece carrying some

mundane metal equipment. 

  Inside the conference room, which

was undoubtedly but one of many

laden with the cutting edge of technology

and style, the CEO of the operation

lectured at length about how much care

was put into the appearance of the place,

supposedly all for the benefit of the

patient. 

  However, when she began to speak of

the actual treatments and medical science

employed at this grand facility... there was

nothing new or remarkable at all.  It was

the same old treatments and practices

employed for years by almost all hospitals.

There was no cure for cancer, no great

new innovative treatments, no greater hope

really for anyone suffering... just a grand

facade at the patients pocketbook's

expense.

  I wonder how Jesus looked standing at

the grave sight of Lazarus that day.  We

know He was at the edge of a small town

on the way to Jerusalem.  We know his

garments were not fancy or laden with

fine materials.  There was no great 

chandelier of towering glass column.  

There were no elaborate conference rooms

or even a podium for Him to speak to His

audience. 

   There was but an old grave with a stone

laid in front of it and a dead man decaying

inside.  One victim of illness,  many mourning

rural people, and the embodied almighty God. 

  His operating room was the crude grave, 

His reception area was the open outdoors,

and His instrument was the power to heal.

He thanked the Father for hearing Him, 

stretched out his hand, the hand that grasped

the worlds, and the operation... was a

complete success.

   My point?  Be not decieved by the way 

things appear and stand not in awe of the

vanity of man.  For in man lies no answer,

and no hope.  For all of the glory of man

can not save one life or one soul. 

   Do not get swept away with the tide

and society and the glory of it.  For its glory

is superficial.  Place not your trust in these

things that seem so great, and yet are

so hollow.  

  Trust God.  Really trust God.  Depend on

Him.  Count on Him.  For He is the supplier

of our needs and the only living hope for

mankind.

Jer 17:5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed

be the man that trusteth in man, and

maketh flesh his arm, and whose

heart departeth from the LORD.

God Bless!