Christian Living

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From The Heart
© 2008

by

Stephen A. Peterson


Excited about having been selected by Shawnee Regional Hospital to be one of three volunteer candy strippers, 16 year old Alie Walsh began what she hoped would lead to a practice someday as a pediatrician. To start Alie was assigned the responsibility of preparing young children to be seen by a nurse or doctor usually for surgery. Before she listened to a child’s chest, Alie would plug the stethoscope into their ears and let them listen to their own hearts. Their eyes would generally light up with awe and fascination followed by many questions.

Such an event would always happen when Alie did this except when she came to five year old Angela Poteet. Alie gently placed the stethoscope in her ears and placed the disk over her heart.

“Listen, Angela,” she said. “What do you think that is?”

She drew her eyebrows together in a puzzled line and looked up to the hospital ceiling as if she was lost in the mystery of the strange bumping sound that came through the rubber lines of the stethoscope from her little chest. Then her face slowly broke out in a radiant smile. “Nurse,” she said. “Is that Jesus knocking, huh? Is that Jesus?”

Alie smiled as though shocked then said, “Yes! Yes! That’s what that is! You’re right, Angela! Yes!”

Somewhere in her young past maybe at home or at her church’s religious education class or Sunday school, Angela had been told Jesus’ illustration of His desire to have a close, enduring, eternal relationship with every member of the human family by standing at the door of every person’s heart, knocking to come in and dwell.

As Alie made her way to her Shawnee, Oklahoma home she could not help but replay little Angela’s explanation . She concluded that in her heart and in the hearts of every living person, Christian or not, beats the faint, persistent sound of Jesus knocking and waiting to come in. Allie also realized Jesus told the entire world that He comes to each person every new day wanting to share His Good News and desire to be with every one and make home in each person—a relationship. And perhaps it is only those with the faith and innocence of a child who is able to cut through the hustle and bustle of a world submerged in meism, hedonism and selfishness to open the door to their heart and let Him come in and be with them.

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