Transplant Surgery

A nephew of mine had failing kidneys, and after some months on dialysis, he received a kidney from one of his brothers, who was a good match. The willing sacrifice of the one brother and resulting gift of life for the other has been wonderful to watch.

The surgeon who performed the first successful kidney transplant, in December 1954 in Boston, Joseph Murray, has died, aged 93. He removed a kidney from one identical twin, Ronald Herrick, and gave it to his sick brother, Richard, whose life was extended by 8 years as a result. All other organ transplant surgery has developed from that breakthrough. Dr. Murray described his life-giving work as a prayer.

Joseph Murray was a deeply religious man, who will have known the Old Testament prophecies about our need for radical heart surgery. 

The Bible's diagnosis of the human condition  as preached by the prophet Jeremiah, is not hopeful. '“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?' (Jeremiah 17.9) When people repeatedly show in their lives and their behaviour that something is deeply dysfunctional within, a radical solution is needed. The prophet Ezekiel describes what God alone can do for us. 

“When the people return to their homeland, they will remove every trace of their vile images and detestable idols. And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.' (Ezekiel 11.18-20)

That promise has been fulfilled through the death & resurrection of Jesus, and in the gift of His Spirit. God alone can make us new from the inside out, and with our new heart, which is designed to beat in tune and in time his heartbeat of love and compassion for those around us, we can live as servants of others, for Jesus' sake. What a precious gift is that!

Best wishes,

Richard