Just Keep Swimming
Curt Paul Richter was a Harvard and Johns Hopkins educated biologist, psychobiologist and geneticist, who served for many years as director of Johns Hopkins’ psychiatric clinic, where he served until becoming professor of psychobiology in 1957.
He made many important contributions to the fields of biology and psychobiology. One of his most famous experiments involved drowning rats – a study which, today, would probably land him in jail for animal cruelty.
He knew that rats had a reputation for being able to swim for exceedingly long periods of time (in excess of 50 hours!). Yet when he placed rats in a tightly confined bucket of water, they quickly discovered they had no means of outlet, no means of relief, and literally gave up, allowing themselves to simply sink to the bottom, and drowning, on average, within about 15 minutes.
He knew they had the “physical” ability to continue swimming much longer, so concluded they must have felt both helpless and hopeless. So he tried again, this time pulling the rats from the water once he saw them beginning to struggle. He let them rest for a short time before returning them to the bucket. They once again began swimming, testing the confines of their surroundings, but instead of giving up and allowing themselves to sink and drown, they kept swimming! And swimming! And swimming! Many swam up to 60 hours until their bodies could simply no longer endure.
What was the difference between these two groups of rats? Richter concluded the difference was HOPE -- that “feeling of expectation” that a particular outcome or desire will come to pass (Google Dictionary), “to look forward to [something] with desire and reasonable confidence” (Dictionary.com).
These drowning rats had been saved once, so they were instilled with the hope – the expectation, the reasonable confidence -- of eventual rescue yet again. Sadly, their hope was misplaced. Their motivation to battle the fatigue, battle the seemingly impossible circumstances, and just keep swimming still landed them in the bottom of the bucket.
Hope is an amazing motivator. And when it is well placed, it is a lifeline.
To the Christian, who has placed their hope squarely in the promises of God, our “feeling of expectation” is much more than a feeling. It is an assured confidence “in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began" (Titus 1:2). It is that knowledge and confidence in Christ’s finished work on our behalf that will ultimately result in our salvation and eternal life,
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal … so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Cor 4:16–5:5).
Life gets hard folks. You may feel hemmed in on every side, with no visible means of relief or escape. Your body, not to mention your mind and spirit, may want to just give up. But, in the immortal words of Disney’s Dory, “Just keep swimming!”
Allow the assured promises of God to keep you motivated. Death will be swallowed up in life. He has given you His Spirit as a guarantee of the salvation and glorification which is to come!
The Hope Effect
I’ve recently been struggling with what the doctor tells me is Athlete’s Foot. You know, at this point of my life, I am glad to be associated with the word athlete no matter how uncomfortable it may be.
So I’ve been using this over the counter stuff and it works, but when I stop using it, the Athlete's Foot immediately returns. So, I went back to my doctor and told him, “You know, I need something more powerful to kick this thing. I'd like to completely get rid of it.”
He said, "Ok, I’m going to give you the most powerful drug on the market."
After I got the prescription filled, I read the little paper that came with it. It contained a list of all of the weird things this drug might do to those who administer it.
There, I also found the results of a controlled study. Sixty percent of the people found the drug effective. Of course, in a controlled study, there are those who are given a placebo, instead. Forty-four percent of those who took the placebo also found it effective.
I was amazed to read that forty-four percent of the time the placebo did the job. That’s almost as good as the actual medication! As I considered those numbers, I thought to myself, that is an illustration of the power of hope!
When we expect something to help us, it is incredible how helpful that can be all by itself. Hope, even an empty hope, can change our lives for the better.
Perhaps, the next time I see my doctor, I should tell him, “Listen, just give me a prescription for the placebo. It’s cheaper and it’s almost as effective!”
Of course, the problem with this idea is that once we are aware that we are taking a placebo, it doesn't work! Right? The Placebo Effect requires a genuine belief. The medicine doesn't have to be genuine but the hope does. Without a sincere belief, there is no Placebo Effect.
This tells us that the Placebo Effect is really the Hope Effect. And if hope is powerful without anything behind it, think of how much more powerful it will be when the words of God are behind it!
"But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40:31).
Scientists Discover Whole-Body Regeneration Switch
Harvard Scientists have discovered a DNA power switch that controls genes for regeneration, with the potential to adjust the range of regeneration. It is hoped that the discovery will one day lead to the ability to regrow limbs, like the salamander, or mimic the jellyfish's ability to regenerate their entire bodies after being cut in half.
But it's Christians who should be most excited by this discovery, for we know the One whose hand is on the switch. After all, God wrote the code!!
What makes this a double discovery is that it was found among what scientists call "Junk DNA," DNA that was allegedly left lying around by Evolution, with no real purpose. What an incredible treasure to find amongst the so-called "junk!" Finds like these demonstrate that there really is no such thing as "Junk DNA," just junk science!
Rather, there is a purpose behind all of the code our Creator has written into our DNA. Just because we have yet to discover its purpose doesn't mean that it has no purpose. It just means there's a lot we don't know.
But there is no excuse for ignorance when it comes to regeneration. The Scriptures inform us that it is God's intent to one day make full use of that whole-body regeneration switch!
When Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die," wasn't He also saying, "Don't worry, the code for whole-body regeneration is real and I know that code!"?