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Stairway Love

Al Weir, MD

June 26, 2018
06262018WEEKLYDEVOTIONS

“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us” (1 John 4:11-12, NIV 1984).

We were in their country, not ours. The hotel was bustling with students, local Christian doctors, American physicians, dentists and nurses—rapid movement in all directions, a controlled chaos shepherding hundreds toward a life with Jesus. Randy, an American dentist, was moving through the crowds when he noticed one of the students seemed distressed. She was one who had been most outspoken against the gospel. Randy spoke to her and discovered her grandfather was very ill. He placed his arm around the girl and asked if he might pray for her. There on the stairs of the busy hotel, Randy sat with his arm around the student and prayed.

When Jesus walked in flesh among us, He was more than a great teacher, though He was the greatest teacher of all. When He sailed across the Galilean Sea, he was more than just a miracle worker, though He could calm the storms in that sea with one word. When Jesus lived on earth so long ago, He was also the embodiment of God’s love. He was God incarnate, God living through a man, fully demonstrating God’s love in action for all people.

And now Christ lives in us. And once again, in a lesser but eternal way, God becomes incarnate in our lives, “…Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27, NIV 1984). And the world should see the whole Christ: not only the teaching, not only the miracles and not only the great, life-giving work of the cross. The world should also see the tears He cried for those who suffered and His touch of healing for the sick who came to Him, the arm of Christ around the heart-worn student on the stairs. For with that touch, with those tears and with that arm of prayer, presenting the whole Christ, we can share authentically His greatest words of love, “For God so loved the world…” (John 3:16, NIV 1984).

Dear Father,
Help me to love in word and in action.
Amen

Al Weir, MD

Al Weir, MD

After leaving academic medicine, Dr. Weir served in private practice at the West Clinic in Memphis, Tennessee from 1991-2005 before joining the CMDA staff as Vice President of Campus & Community Ministries where he served for three years from 2005-2008. He is presently Professor of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Program Director for the Hematology/Oncology fellowship program. He is also President of Albanian Health Fund, an educational ministry to Albania where he has been serving for 20 years. He is the author of two books: When Your Doctor Has Bad News and Practice by the Book. Dr. Weir’s work has also been published in many medical journals and other publications. Al and his wife Becky live in Memphis, Tennessee, and they have three children and three grandchildren. Dr. Weir is currently serving on CMDA's Board of Trustees.