One of my favorite Christian authors is Phillip Yancey. I've read practically everything that he has ever written and have been greatly encouraged by that which he shares. One of the formative influences in his life and writing is Dr. Paul Brand, a physician who for many years worked with the victims of leprosy. Yancey writes that he first met Brand while Yancey was writing Where is God When it Hurts? They would later collaborate together on the book The Gift of Pain. Brand's observations from working with leprosy victims caused him to think deeply about pain as a gift from God that warns our bodies when something isn't functioning properly. This gift is frequently lost or absent in leprosy victims when the disease has consumed their extremities and destroyed the nerve sensors that receive and transmit painful stimuli.
This morning as I was reading a daily email devotional entitled "A Slice of Infinity" that I receive from Ravi Zacharias' organization, the managing editor, Jill Carratini (a great writer herself) quotes a 1990 sermon by Brand. I wanted to share that quote today.
Brand says, "I pray that when my time comes I may not grumble that my body has worn out too soon, but hold on to gratitude that I have been so long at the helm of the most wonderful creation the world has ever known, and look forward to meeting the designer face to face." Great words from a physician describing the awesome creation that is the human body.
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