Taylor's Gift

One of the hardest things in life is when someone else’s ends too early. Saying goodbye is never easy, but when a tragedy comes that was unforeseen, that only adds to what is already a terrible situation. Todd and Tara Storch found out just how difficult sudden loss can be when their teenaged daughter Taylor died during a family vacation. She was only thirteen, and should have had many decades of life ahead of her, but her first day on the ski slopes of Colorado proved to be her last. Her father and brother watched in horror as she lost control and slammed into a tree, which was the last thing she ever did on earth.

There were two things she did before that accident that helped to bring some hope to the family. First, she became a follower of Jesus, so her family took comfort in knowing their little girl was in heaven. And second, she lived her life in such a way that her parents knew organ donation was something she would have wanted. Taylor always put others ahead of herself, so when her parents were asked if they would be willing to donate Taylor’s organs, they initially balked, but then decided it is what she would have done if given the chance.

In their book Taylor’s Gift, Todd and Tara recount how, over time, they were able to meet each of the recipients of their daughters organs. This is such a rare privilege because many families choose not to meet the donor’s family. There was Jeff, the rancher in Colorado who received one of Taylor’s kidneys and her pancreas; there was Patricia, the nurse in Arizona who received Taylor’s heart; there was Jonathan, a biker in Colorado who received another kidney and her liver; and then there was Ashley, a teenager in South Dakota who received Taylor’s eyes in a corneal transplant. Her parents got to look into the beautiful blue eyes of their daughter again when they met Ashley, and they took comfort in meeting Jeff and Jonathan, but when Tara got to use a stethoscope to hear her daughter’s heart beat inside of Patricia, they really believed their daughter lived on.

They started a ministry called Taylor’s Gift (taylorsgift.org) to help with donation research and to promote awareness of organ donation. Since February 14^th is donation awareness day, I wanted to take a quick minute to share their story and encourage readers to consider becoming a donor if your health allows. But besides that, I wanted to take a minute to give praise to Jesus, whose death makes life available to all who accept the gift. Imagine someone on the transplant list turning down a perfect match. That would be crazy! It is just as crazy to refuse the free gift of salvation that Jesus made available when He died on the cross. He’s a perfect match, and He offers new life to all who put their trust in Him.

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, and behold, the new has come.”

II Corinthians 5:17

A Wee Little Man Was He

As a child I loved the story of Zacchaeus, and I loved singing about him in children’s church. We know him today as a wee little man who climbed up in a sycamore tree in order to get a better look at Jesus. The story seems kind of random, but I believe a closer look at some of the details can be helpful.

Oftentimes when depicting this story people will use a picture of what we think of as a sycamore tree, but we need to remember where Zacchaeus lived. Sycamore trees here in North America are tall with big leaves and grow near water. The tree Zacchaeus shimmied up was native to the Jordan Valley; it is called the sycamore-fig tree because of the fruit that it produces. The branches run low to the ground and bear something that looks like figs but tastes disgusting. Because there was no market for the fruit of the sycamore-fig, they were only eaten by the poor.

Now remember who Zacchaeus was. He was a tax collector, which basically gave him a license to steal. Like a rogue IRS agent, Zacchaeus could charge whatever he wanted; he exacted the taxes owed to the Roman government, then made his own living by tacking on additional fees. In order to get a better glimpse of Jesus, Zacchaeus climbed into the tree that fed poor people—people who were quite possibly poor because of Zacchaeus.

That would be like a smarmy politician in a suit standing on a dumpster while his poor constituents ate the garbage.

The fruit of Zacchaeus’ life was not unlike the fruit of the sycamore-fig: rotten. The image of him standing in this tree would not have been lost on the people around him. But as bad as he was in his life before Christ, he was equally good in his life after conversion. When Jesus forgave his sin we see a new man emerge. He gave half of his possessions to the poor (he no doubt had many!), and he reimbursed everyone he defrauded at a rate four times higher than he stole:

“Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.’”

Luke 19:8

Jesus turned this wee little man into a spiritual giant. That’s what Jesus does. That’s why grace is so amazing. Has there ever been a change like that in your life? 

Christ's Authority

Only Jesus can heal someone without even being present to do it. Matthew and Luke both record an instance in which Jesus declared someone would be healed, and later the person was found to be well. In Luke 7:1-10, Jesus is approached by some people on behalf of their leader, a Centurion in the Roman army. They are asking for Jesus to come heal one the servants of this soldier, and Jesus agrees to go.

On the way to where the Centurion was they were greeted by more of his servants, this time asking Jesus not to come heal the man, but to simply issue the command to do so. According to the Centurion, he was not worthy to have Jesus enter his house, and he believed the miracle could occur even without Jesus being present. Jesus is moved by the great display of faith: He was on the way to heal the man, but the Centurion was willing to risk everything. If Jesus never came to the house, the servant might not get better, but in faith the Centurion trusted that Jesus would come through. And He did.

This Centurion was used to sending people on missions; as the name suggests, he had a hundred men under his command. His job depended on him being able to give the word and trust that the order would be fully carried out; he could not waste time following his men to make sure they were doing things right. His authority demanded that his words be carried out. This Centurion recognized that kind of authority in Jesus (albeit on a different level). All Jesus had to do was speak the word and the command for healing would be carried out, and that is exactly what happened.

That is the authority of Christ. When He spoke in a boat, the wind and seas obeyed Him. When He spoke at Creation, all the elements rushed to obey. When He gave the word, the Centurion’s servant was instantly better. That same power is still present today. When we call out to Him for forgiveness or salvation, He answers the call without delay.

If there is something in your life that seems too big for you, have the faith of the Roman Centurion. Take it to the Lord in prayer, because nothing is impossible with God.

“When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, ‘I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!’”

Luke 7:9