Code Blue
“Code … Blue …”
I’m sure you have heard these words before. Maybe when you have been visiting someone in the hospital. You’ve probably heard them on a TV medical show drama, though it is grossly misinterpreted. Maybe you are a medical professional and you have heard these words and responded to do what you were trained to do - save a life. I pray you’ve never uttered or heard these words spoken because a family member or friend was in need.
As a nurse, I’ve experienced these words from the medical side. I’ve run to the scene, followed orders, and given medications. It is an adrenaline rush that I would not recommend for enjoyment. In thinking about this experience, one thing is the same each time. That is, it requires a team.
This situation cannot be handled well by one person. Someone’s life requires individuals to work together and work quickly. There is no time for arguing. There is no time for criticizing. There is no time for blaming or second-guessing the ability of your co-workers.
You must trust the people you’re working with in this situation. You must be kind. You must be committed to doing the work.
I’m reminded in Scripture that we are commanded [not given an option] to get along. To live at peace. To speak kindly.
I know in this day and time, that seems so foreign. Our world is broken. Tragedy occurs. People hurt. People fight.
We have a choice each and every day in how we will respond to situations we encounter. In conversations. And with other people. Will those around me know you and I love Jesus? Will kindness radiate from our lives? Will others want to be around us?
1 Corinthians 1:10-17 MSG
10 I have a serious concern to bring up with you, my friends, using the authority of Jesus, our Master. I’ll put it as urgently as I can: You must get along with each other. You must learn to be considerate of one another, cultivating a life in common.
11-12 I bring this up because some from Chloe’s family brought a most disturbing report to my attention—that you’re fighting among yourselves! I’ll tell you exactly what I was told: You’re all picking sides, going around saying, “I’m on Paul’s side,” or “I’m for Apollos,” or “Peter is my man,” or “I’m in the Messiah group.”
13-16 I ask you, “Has the Messiah been chopped up in little pieces so we can each have a relic all our own? Was Paul crucified for you? Was a single one of you baptized in Paul’s name?” I was not involved with any of your baptisms—except for Crispus and Gaius—and on getting this report, I’m sure glad I wasn’t. At least no one can go around saying he was baptized in my name. (Come to think of it, I also baptized Stephanas’s family, but as far as I can recall, that’s it.)
17 God didn’t send me out to collect a following for myself, but to preach the Message of what he has done, collecting a following for him. And he didn’t send me to do it with a lot of fancy rhetoric of my own, lest the powerful action at the center—Christ on the Cross—be trivialized into mere words.
I challenge you today to be aware of those around you. When possible, choose to live in and at peace with everyone you come into contact with. Each encounter we have has the potential to impact another’s life. Our words can hurt. Choose to heal with your words today. Choose to always respond in love.
