Perfecting the Heart Transplant
The first successful heart transplant was achieved in 1967, but it would take decades for medical science and skilled practitioners to advance the success of the procedure. One such skilled practioner was Dr. Zbigniew Religa of Poland. Religa dedicated his career to transforming Poland's outdated healthcare system.
A now famous picture Religa captures his exhaustion amidst the tangled aftermath of a 23 hour long heart transplant surgergy (a surgery thought nearly impossible in Poland at the time).
As one Facebook poster observes:
This image does more than document a surgical milestone; it invites viewers into the intense reality of the operating room, where science and human spirit collide. It speaks to the sacrifices and unyielding commitment behind medical miracles. The photograph became iconic because it revealed not just the triumph of transplant surgery, but the deep exhaustion and hope that fuel such extraordinary moments. It is a timeless tribute to those who dedicate their lives to saving others, often at great personal cost.
The picture captures perfectly the effort, the exhaustion, the skill, and the ability of this pioneering heart surgeon. And the operation was a great success. The patient, Tadeusz Żytkiewicz, lived until 2017 ... 30 years post surgery!
Dr. Religa, as others both before and after him, have been hailed as medical saviors.
What a picture, and what an accomplishment. Yet with all Dr. Religa's skill — his effort, his commitment — his patient still died.
Truth is, we are all desperately in need of a heart transplant. But we need more than a medical savior. We need a spiritual heart transplan executed by the Savior of our souls — the one who accomplished what was once thought "impossible," instilling eternal "hope," at "great personal cost."
"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26, ESV).
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalms 51:10, ESV).
"I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart" (Jeremiah 24:7, ESV).
"Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded" (James 4:8, ESV).
And finally, once we have submitted to the Great Physician, asking him to replace our hearts of stone with a new a living heart ...
"Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water" (Hebrews 10:22, ESV).
"... in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15, ESV).
Did You Remember to Lock the Door?
When Denny's decided to close all but six of its 1,221 restaurants for Christmas in 1988, they ran into an unexpected problem—many of their locations didn't have locks on their doors because they had never needed to close before. As a result, the company had to install locks in more than 700 restaurants just so they could shut down for the holiday2.
It was a historic moment for the chain, which had always prided itself on being open 24/7, 365 days a year. The closure was meant to be a gift to employees, allowing them to spend Christmas with their families, even though it cost the company millions in lost revenue.
Imagine working at a place for years and never needing to lock the doors—then suddenly having to figure out how to close up shop! Quite the logistical challenge.
Like Denny's, you may want the door of your heart to be open 24/7. But there is inherent danger in doing so. You never know what unsavory or ill intentioned enemy might jiggle the doorknob and creep on in.
We want our hearts always to be "ready" to welcome the Lord ... and His people! Ready to receive all the Lord has for us! Ready for His return! Ready for opportunites to serve and care for the needs of others! Ready to serve up a "grand slam" of Christian hospitality or ministry.
But vigilence is key. Lock the doors, but be listening for the knock of His return or the knock of opportunity to minister and serve.
35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Luke 12, ESV).
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10, ESV).
Yielding to Avoid a Crash or a Clash
Oklahoma highway patrolman Clinton Riggs was a student at the Northwestern University Traffic Institute, now the Center for Public Safety, in 1939 when he created the yield sign as a class assignment. The original yield sign was keystone shaped and read, “Yield Right of Way” in black letters on a bright, yellow background. Yellow was used because reflective material was not yet available and it was the most visible color at night.
*photo credit unknown
Riggs’ goal was to improve public safety and determine liability in an accident. In 1950, as a member of the Tulsa Police Department, Riggs placed the first yield sign at the most dangerous intersection in the city. Within a year, the number of accidents fell to zero. By 1954, the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices added the yield sign to similar right-of-way intersections. Yield signs soon appeared at intersections across the country, with the keystone shape being replaced with an upside-down triangle with black lettering and a border, but the sign remained yellow. Over time, the signs began only saying “yield.”
Yielding not only helps us be better, safer, and more cnsiderate drivers. Yielding to God, to God's Word, to the Holy Spirit, and yeilding to each other helps us become better disciples of Jesus, children of God, and brothers and sisters to each other!
Oh the crashes and clashes we could avoid if we would just yield to the wisdom and commands of the Lord, and to the needs or preferences of others!
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit [YIELD!] to him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV).
"Submit [YIELD!] yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7, ESV).
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist [fail to YIELD] the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you" (Acts 7:51, ESV).
"Submitting [YIELDING] to one another out of reverence for Christ" (Ephesians 5:21, ESV).