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| Dr. Kent Brantly & his wife Amber (Photo credit: Samaritan's Purse) |
No doubt you have been following the story of Dr. Kent
Brantly, one of two medical missionaries who recently contracted the deadly Ebola
virus while in Liberia. He was transported to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta last week and, thanks to the
efficacy of an experimental serum, has shown great improvement with each
passing day.
Brantly’s
wife, Amber, said in a statement that she is “rejoicing” that he’s better and
is grateful for the prayers of so many. Christian leaders such as Franklin
Graham and Greg Laurie have expressed their relief at his improvement and urged
people to continue praying for his full recovery.
Unfortunately Brantly is not without his critics. Some like
Ann Coulter are angry that his treatment
is costing his sending agency more money than the medical services he rendered.
Others are questioning his wisdom in going to Liberia in the first place,
saying it was foolish to put himself and his family in harm's way by treating
such seriously ill patients.
Do the critics have a point? Should Brantly have been more
careful with his life?
Interestingly, Brantly had already addressed that question
long before he became ill. Before he left for Africa, he shared his perspective
in a sermon at his home church:
“God has a call on my life. And He has used relationships and experiences in His church to clarify, to strengthen, to confirm, to affirm, and to reconfirm that calling.
…I have no doubt, no hesitation, that He has called me to be a full-time medical missionary. And as I dream about what that will look like in the years to come, my heart leaps with excitement and joy knowing that He has called me.”
Calling. Every one of us has one. But what does that mean? I
like this definition: “God’s
personal invitation for me to work on His agenda using the talents I’ve been
given in ways that are eternally significant.” (Thomas Addington and Stephen
Graves, A Case for Calling) So the nature of a calling is that
it is initiated by God. God calls; we respond. In fact, He has had our callings waiting for us since before we were even born! Because Brantly understood this concept, he felt confident that it was God who initiated
the assignment in Africa, and not going willy-nilly into a dangerous
situation. He felt God had confirmed his calling over many years and through many godly people.
Brantly’s story also demonstrates that there are other
voices calling us – temporal voices, contrarian voices - telling us why our
callings are neither practical, logical, safe, nor financially sound.
We should pay them no heed.
Instead, we should listen to the One who knows each of us by name and who
created us with a purpose in mind. We should listen also to those who affirm the call on our life, who will pray for us and stand with us when the going gets tough.
I love how Brantly said that his calling, though fraught
with danger, made his heart leap with excitement and joy. Are you experiencing
joy and excitement in your life? If not, maybe you have yet to discover your
true calling. Ask the Lord to show you, and then hold on for the ride!
You can hear more of Brantly in his own words in this moving video:
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