Vital Signs

Scripture:  Romans 8:9 - But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.

So, courtesy of some dear one employed at the then Baltimore City Hospital, one August 3rd, I was welcomed into a very new ex utero world, weighing a grand 5#13oz., following the pronouncement of  'It’s a boy.' The weight, quickly surpassed, was a 'vital sign'.  After all the excitement, my mom would've had her weight checked, along with things like heart rate, breaths per minute, oral temperature, and blood pressure- all vital signs. Currently, many of us after getting steered toward better eating and more movement would rejoice with '120/80' the golden grand number for optimal blood pressure for an adult. And given the epidemic of metabolic syndrome and diabetes, a vital sign of sorts might be '6.5', the defining value of hemoglobin A1c confirming 'sugar diabetes', while the pandemic which began about the 1980s, then reaching America, permitted the eventual vital sign of 'HIV negative'. And an unsung hero, and vital sign of the 2020-2021 year, "40-up nanograms per milliliter", represents our preferred 25 hydroxy-vitamin D level as it confers favor upon those becoming infected with SARS Corona virus-2.
Whether it is reaching the goal of 40grams of fiber per day in the diet, arriving at a 'quit date' to no longer smoke, or the regular acquiring of 7-10 hours of nightly uninterrupted sleep, these observances, or targets, are examples of so-called vital signs, broadly agreed-upon values that align with good health measures, when reached naturally or with help.

So, hopefully, with our '20/20' eyesight what might we see as vital signs for the church?
God, would see beauty.  "Let the beauty [or favor] of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish for us the  work of our hands- yes, establish the work of our hands!"  Psalm 90 @ v.17

While the work of our hands may be manifold, and variably good, the 'establishing' is the prerequisite and publically invisible beautiful work which God has imputed to those whom He has called, and the vital sign of the believer, seen by God, is the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit abiding within us. Right 'knowing', is the springboard for right going.  Our good works [the work of our hands] follow and reflect the good already done, by God Himself, with the gospel raised before the hearing of our hearts, beautifying us towards a very alien 'yes' and 'amen'.

What a wonder!  Where holiness, justice, mercy, and sin intersect within eternity, we have within the temporal horror of the cross, a certain glorious, and justifying eternal beauty- God, Himself, letting love be known, letting love redeem you and I.  Wow!  "And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us..."
Romans 5:5

Prayer:   With every grace-tendered breath, and every moment, come of mercy, thank You Lord God, for everything, for all of then, all of now, and all of that to come. Thank You, and bless You. Amen.

(by Dr. McNeal Brockington)