“God can do that. He can perform miracle grafts…” Romans
11:23
Time and again, I have been amazed at how God speaks to me
and how He knows exactly what I need to hear at just the right moment. This
past summer I decided to read The Message,
a translation of the Bible using modern vernacular. It’s not my favorite
translation, but it definitely has merit and can shine new light on old verses.
I was quite amazed, for example, to open my Bible to Romans during my bone
marrow transplant, particularly at the time that I was worried that the graft
(the new donor cells) might not “take”. There is always a period of anxiety
when the patient waits to find out what percentage of cells is donor and what
percentage is the host. I will often hear patients sob with joy when a doctor
tells them they are 100% donor. And so while waiting for my own test results,
one day I opened the Bible to calm my nerves and my eyes fell on the following
verse: “He can perform miracle grafts.” (Romans 11:23) A coincidence? No such
thing! What the world calls a “coincidence” is God in action. I never let
myself use the term “coincidence”, as it takes my eyes off God’s miracles. This
verse was such a perfect reminder, and at such a perfect time, to place my
trust in Him—not in numbers and blood work and statistics, but in the One who
can do all things, and who works ALL things for the good of those who love Him
and who are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28). Of course, Paul is
not talking about grafting donor cells when he writes this; he is talking about
grafting people (the branches) into Christ (the tree). And that is a comforting
thought as well, as Paul reminds us that there is always hope that those who
don’t know Christ will find him. And that should be my most urgent prayer—not the
prayer for me, for my own successful transplant and remission—but that others
would experience the same love, the same reassurance, the same hope, and the
same eternity. He can take a single verse and turn it into so many lessons: a
reminder to trust Him, a reminder to pray for others, and a reminder that He
cares about every little thing on my heart. Oh, and a reminder that He is
always right--He CAN perform miracle grafts. My blood is now 100% my beautiful daughter’s,
and we are DNA twins. God is good!
Dear God, I am so
grateful to be one of your branches, to have been grafted in as a “miracle
graft”. Thank You for Your mercy and grace. If You can graft me, with all my
sins and flaws, into Your perfect plan of salvation, then I know that You can
do it for those who are lost. Don’t let them get away, God, but call them to
You. Perform a miracle in their lives, spiritually and physically, and show
them Your glory. In Your Son’s name I pray, Amen.
