My ticket in.... | Dana Wrinkle

I sat down at the table exhausted after the last case. Unexpectedly, the anesthesiologist joined me and we discussed the challenges the case had presented. The conversation shifted to the challenges I was experiencing regarding my father’s stroke. Exasperated I told him “My dad doesn’t think the rules apply to him.” My colleague laughed with empathy. “My dad had a stroke and he thinks all doctors are idiots!” We both sighed and chuckled realizing we faced some of the same challenges… a non-compliant patient.

I thought it was odd his father thought all doctors were idiots since his son is one of the most intelligent physicians I know. So, I pursued the comment. My friend explained he needed to put the comment in context. His father spoke Mandarin, Vietnamese, German, Russian, Farsi and three other languages. I thought it odd to speak those particular languages. But when he mentioned his father was rarely home, I blurted “Your father was a spy!”. He nodded his head. “He worked for the NSA.”

His father’s Russian was so good the Iranian government hired him thinking he was indeed Russian. They hired him to transfer the Iranian military files from paper to computer.

God used this intriguing international-man-of-mystery to shift my perspective and teach me a couple of lessons.

Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings… Proverbs 22:29

I realized the value of excelling in your work. The knowledge, skills and expertise this man possessed were so highly valued, an opposing government invited him into the most secretive parts of their military.

Lesson #1: His knowledge, skills and expertise were his ticket in. He was invited into a place he would have never been allowed had they known his true purpose.

Lesson #2: Once he was invited in, he had the opportunity to pursue a simultaneously ulterior purpose.

He transferred the files from paper to computer. He successfully completed the task for which he was hired. But he also gathered and relayed Iranian military information to the US government.

I realized for the first time, we are spies. We need to excel in our knowledge, skills and expertise so we too will be invited into areas we would never be allowed, in order to accomplish an ulterior purpose. Our purpose is to advance the Kingdom of God. My ability to provide anesthesia allows me into sacred and vulnerable moments in patients lives. Moments where their hearts may be softer to God’s voice and will.

But my skills also open the door to my greater mission field. The people I do life with.

I am given access to the lives of those around me. Jesus was known for eating with sinners. He spent His life in pursuit of the lost and lonely. Maybe I should start using more of my time, energy, skills and knowledge pursuing the lost and the lonely. Strategically getting involved in various activities of life. Not because I necessarily love being “room mom” or coaching or PTA, but because these roles allow me access to other people’s lives. Access to ministering to them.

Maybe I should start using more of my time going to some of the darkest places. Maybe instead of running away, I should run to a job or situation where I am the “only Christian”. Because the darkest places are the very places God wants to share His light. You are the light of the world… Matthew 5:14

One of these days, a colleague, teammate, mother or friend will show up discouraged and I will have the opportunity to speak life. Or, in need of assistance and I will be able to offer help. And maybe after spending years loving, listening, helping, praying and encouraging those around me, they might ask me for advice, or prayers or about my God.

This summer we will examine the lives of several believers who personify Learn it. Love it. Live it. The WORD OF GOD. We will look at how God is using their obedience, skills, knowledge and expertise to open doors which might have otherwise be closed. We will explore how God is using their gifts to meet a tangible need while also allowing them to pursue their “ulterior purpose”.

God wants to use all of us in the same way. I hope to encourage you in your journey. To fan the flame or your faith. To expand the borders of your mind in how you love and serve our God and His purpose for your life.

Jesus commands us to … be his witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” I’m noticing God starts at home and builds until we are reaching out into our communities, nation and then internationally. No matter what season we are in, God is preparing us for the next.