You Complete Me

“For in Him dweleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.  And ye are complete in Him.”  Colossians 2:10  KJV

Our year in Snellville afforded us the opportunity to get Randy through seminary, get our feet wet in ministry, and feel God working to bring a sense of completeness to the call to the ministry.

Randy was very fortunate to have a professor, advisor, and friend all in the person of Bob Gary.  God used Bob to see things in Randy that neither of us could see or detect – things he needed to rectify in regard to his view of Christianity and the world.  It was with only two quarters to go until graduation, that Bob told Randy he was going to recommend an additional clinical quarter for him.  This was met with some resistance and a little anger on Randy’s part as it meant spending much time at Emory hospital ministering to patients on two very serious wards.  Randy objected; Bob insisted; Bob won and that was that!

It was with a great deal of reluctance that Randy began his duties as chaplain. He served on the cancer floor of Emory.  He was drawn almost immediately to a young athlete named Phil, who was battling brain cancer.  They connected as they talked of football, sports, faith, life, death, and the resurrection. They developed a tight bond and a sweet friendship. At night, I would hear stories of Phil and what a great guy he was! I also heard of his suffering, pain, and positive attitude. It was such a sad situation, but Randy was confident that God was at work in Phil’s life.

We left town  one weekend to attend the funeral of Randy’s aunt.  While we were gone, Phil died quietly.  Randy was beside himself with anger and confusion.  How could God let this happen?  He felt he had let his friend, Phil, down by not being with him.

It was at this point that Bob stepped in to help Randy see the things that he had seen all along.  He said, “Randy, your idea of the Christian faith was lacking and very idealistic.  You saw only the resurrection without the reality of the cross.   There would be no resurrection, no celebration, without the cross. The cross opened the way for us to see Jesus face to face.”

God used precious people to help complete us in the love of Jesus.