YOUR VOICE

Have a Heart

Click to Enlarge As alumnus John Smithwick has found, sharing God’s love and healing power with others makes all the difference.

At ORU we not only learned a lifestyle, we were challenged to go into every corner of this world to show God’s love to all people.

Whether it is with our family, our neighborhood, or with a worldwide organization, as alumni we strive to fulfill the mission God has given us in different ways. No matter what the venue, I believe the toughest issue is the same.

The hardest part of our mission . . .

• is not the recruitment of volunteers to serve the poor with needs around the world.
• is not praying with those who are hurting in our communities.
• is not the study and preparation for that Bible lesson.
• is not the procurement and handling of donations of materials.
• is not even the raising of financial contributions, whether large or small, for our churches, schools, or ministries.

The hardest part of our mission is touching the human heart. Touching hearts for eternity is our direction. Unless the heart is touched, the work will not last. So, how do we touch the human heart? First we have to understand how and why God put us, His creation, together.

We were wonderfully made. He formed our innermost being, and knit us in our mother’s womb. Most important of all, He created us to love. One of the scribes asked Jesus, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength’” (Mark 12:28-30).

We see that, in God’s eyes, each human being is made of four elements, which are distinct yet woven together: heart, soul, mind, and strength (body).

Within the soul is found the heart. The heart is the center of our being. It is the place from which our unique identity proceeds, to impact and affect our selves, our neighbors, our environment, and our God.

It is the seat of willpower, and of conscience. The heart is a container, or seat, of the Spirit. We keep things in our hearts. We pick them up, weigh them, study them from different angles, and relate them to other things. The things we keep in our hearts will be points of reference for us.

Those things will affect our soul, our body, and our mind, and will come out in our speech, our thoughts, and our deeds.

Here’s an example of a willing heart that I observed recently at Mercy Ships. One of the crew members serving on one of our ships in Liberia was called on to go down to the hospital ward to give blood to a patient who was in need. Giving blood is not her favorite pastime, but knowing how necessary it was for patients to receive blood — often numerous times — she was willing. Little did she know what was in store for her. She was able to actually see her blood being given to the patient. She had an incredible week getting to know this patient who claims she saved his life. He became a Christian and has asked her to teach him the Bible. Due to the 15-year war in that nation, he had not been able to get an education and could not read. She had the most unbelievable time teaching him how to read. Her church had sent her a kid’s easy-reading Bible, which has made it so exciting for him. His heart was touched. He feels she was an angel sent from God.

We share best whatever is in our heart. When our heart, soul, body, and mind are in agreement, we have integrity. With integrity comes virtue, which is spiritual power. With virtue comes the ability to make an eternal impact for God’s kingdom and His glory, and for the benefit of our sisters and brothers. As we experienced at ORU, our mission is to love God — in mind (thought), in body (deed), in soul (expression), and in heart (will) . . . and to love our neighbors.

The more we love God, the more time we spend with Him, the more He will renew and fill our hearts, and the more love we will have to give to our brothers and sisters.

E. Rhae Buckley 80
Vice Chairman, Alumni Board of Directors

You can send your gift to the ORU Alumni Foundation, P.O. Box 702333, Tulsa, OK 74170, or give online at http://alumni.oru.edu.