VITAL

 Recently I heard a sermon which began the wheels turning.  There was reference to our vital organs being hidden.  So once again, I went to the Creator Who was in the details of the first man and explored His creation.  God knew---those vital organs needed the most protection.  Life cannot be sustained without a heart or lungs or kidneys or  stomach, or  liver (there are more--consult the chart below).  Man has figured out a way to sustain life without kidneys---but the quality of that life is greatly diminished.  Man has determined how dialysis can keep us alive---but the artificial way ties us to a machine and often causes as many problems as it solves.  

I had a dear friend who in his final months had an external VAD to help his heart pump the blood necessary to sustain life.  The machine gave him more time here, but he could not be off that machine.  He carried it everywhere he went.  AND still, due to advanced heart disease he was severely limited in what he could do.

There is a machine that can help us breathe which is called a ventilator.  It usually leads to the placement of of PEG tube to supply the needed nutrition.  SO, though man has been smart enough to come up with ways to sustain life when some of our vital organs do not work or have been removed, the quality of life is NOT what was provided by the original organs of the body.

Finally, I thought of the brain.  There is no substitute for the brain and it has-perhaps the greatest amount of protection with the surrounding skull.  I suppose there could someday be the creation of a machine to substitute for the brain---today's equivalent is the computer.  The question then becomes---are we really still here with a computer for a brain?  What about the limitations of a computer---can it experience emotions, will it desire community, will memories be only stored RAM unlike the complexity of the neurons in a real brain?

YES---we are made up of a network of vital organs whose job it is to sustain our lives.  As I thought this over, I began to reflect on our souls.  NOT a vital organ---but the essential part of who we are.  The one part which never dies---but instead transfers from an earthly home to an eternal home.  What is the protector of the soul?  NOW--I have jumped off into the deep end--but with limited theological education---I believe God is our soul's protector. God gave us Jesus so that our soul might be with Him in eternity.  AND He gave us the Holy Spirit to dwell within us to guide us.   Think this over---it is a deep pool and bears consideration.  Who is protecting your soul?

"You are my mighty rock,

my fortress,

my PROTECTOR,

the rock where I am safe,

my shield,

my powerful weapon,

and my place of shelter."

Psalm 18:2