From Death to Life
"While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8 (NIV)
Thirteen years ago, Bruce and I had a dear college friend and former Auburn football teammate of Bruce’s who received a much-needed heart transplant. Prior to his heart transplant surgery, Danny was tired, pale, and short of breath. Once active and healthy, Danny’s quality of life had decreased greatly with his increased heart failure. Danny’s heart was failing fast and without a heart transplant, there was little that could be done. Danny was out of options and it was just a matter of time without a medical miracle.
I still remember where I was when his wife’s phone call came one afternoon. Bruce and I were on vacation at the beach and I was working in the kitchen. My cell phone rang and Debbie said, “We just got a call from the hospital and a new heart is available. We’ve only got a couple of hours to get there, but we still don’t know if Danny will be the one to receive this new heart. We’ve already had a couple of false alarms. Please pray!”
Bruce and I quickly prayed both for the heart and our friends’ travel from Destin to Birmingham. We also prayed for the transplant surgical team and for the family of the donor.
Two days after his successful heart transplant surgery, I visited the UAB Hospital HTIC (Heart Transplant Intensive Care Unit) and saw Danny. The” before and after” difference was undeniable. Danny was sitting up in a chair; his color was good; his eyes were clear, and he had a broad smile on his face. He looked so much better than the last time Bruce and I had seen him. He was transformed from death to life.
"You look great!" I said.
"I feel great," he responded. "In fact, I feel like a 15-year old who could play football again."
Danny’s 9th heart transplant anniversary celebration with his son and grandson
I laughed and we chatted about his whole heart transplant process. How his "We've got a heart for you" call came; how quickly he and his wife needed to be at the hospital; what it felt like to see his new heart beating on a monitor for the first time after his surgery. And with that last reflection, Danny’s eyes filled with tears as he said, "You know...Somebody had to die so that I can live."
Silence fell briefly as we both processed the reality involved for any heart transplant: somebody has to die so that another can live.
Celebrating Danny’s hole-in one!
But my friend's transplant reality is really nothing new. All of us who know Christ as our Savior have experienced that "someone had to die so that I can live" truth. Paul, writing to the Christians in Rome some 25 years after Jesus' death on the cross, penned these words, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) The Apostle Paul realized that Jesus' substitutionary death on the cross was necessary for the fulfillment of the prophet Ezekiel's words regarding God's promise: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:26 NIV)
That's the reality of the Gospel. Christ died for us so that we can live for Him. Jesus' death on a cross makes a new heart and new spirit possible for all who by faith believe in Him. Now, as I remember Danny’s heart transplant and celebrate his changed life, I am thankful for my own spiritual heart transplant. I am also challenged to pray for the countless others- family members, friends, millennial and Gen Z "nones," those living in the 10/40 window- who also need a spiritual heart transplant and the new life that comes with it.
Danny’s new physical heart suddenly stopped beating last week after thirteen years, but his spiritual heart is very much alive and home with the Lord.. All of us who knew and loved Danny are so very grateful for his life, his friendship, his generosity, and his determination and gratitude to live life to the fullest for the last thirteen years. He will be greatly missed.