THE “ICU”
Brent Willey
“ICU.” Many instantly recognize those letters and know that they stand for “Intensive Care Unit.” And many, if not most, have either spent time in the ICU or have waited on friends and loved ones who need the specialized medical care found in this unit of the hospital. The ICU waiting room is different from any other place in the world...and the people who wait are different. They can’t do enough for each other. No one is rude. The distinctions of ethnicity and social standing melt away. A man is a father first, a black man second. The common laborer loves his wife as much as the educated professional loves his. Everyone knows that loving and caring for someone else is what life is all about. The emotions are universal.
Turn your attention for a moment to the waiting room where friends and family wait for news of the well being of their loved one. I have spent long hours in the waiting rooms of many intensive care units, waiting with anxious people and listening to urgent questions: “Will my husband make it?” “Will my child walk again?” “How do you live without your companion of thirty years?” These concerned individuals have put their complete trust in the ICU physicians, nurses and other medical experts. The ICU is a serious environment!
God’s “Intensive Care Unit” is His spiritual family, the church! The church has been often described as a hospital caring for souls, with Jesus as the “Great Physician” (Mark 2.17). One is added to this “unit” by first obeying the gospel of Christ. Spiritual healing begins and is sustained once we obey the following steps: belief in Christ as God’s Son (John 8.24), repentance from our past sins (Luke 13.3), confession of faith in Christ (Rom. 10.10), baptism for the remission of sins (Mark 16.16; Acts 2.38; 22.16).
The most important consideration is whether or not you are in God’s spiritual “intensive care unit.” Sadly, many do not recognize the serious nature of their own condition. God’s ICU is not just for others; it is for me and for you! Peter wrote, “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Pet. 5.7). Life is all about loving God and loving others; that’s the way God designed it. God’s loving care is always “intense” (Eph. 3.17-19).
God loves us so much that He wants to save us and add us to His spiritual family that we may live with Him forever in heaven. God provides special care in His ICU, the church. How critical is the condition of your soul today? Come to Christ and allow Him to provide the loving care that we all desperately need. [BTW]