Volume 30, No. 5                                          
January 30, 2005

The Inside Story

    When German medical student Werner Forssmann needed the answer to a life-saving question, he went right to the heart of the matter — his own heart.

   It was 1929 and 25-year-old Forssmann was a second year student in a small hospital near Berlin.  He was determined to find a safe way to inject drugs into the human heart, to resuscitate cardiac patients on the brink of disaster or death.  But, at the time, medical experts believed any entry into the heart would be fatal.  Forssmann thought they were wrong and had the courage of his convictions.

   After boning up on the basics of cardiac physiology, he cut an incision into his upper arm, found a major vein and inserted a urethral catheter, a flexible, transparent tube used to help patients who couldn’t urinate. With the catheter dangling from his arm, he took the stairs to the hospital’s x-ray room, sat on a table, and slowly threaded the tube toward his heart while using a mirror to watch his progress on a primitive x-ray machine called a fluoroscope. He gingerly inched the tube all the way into his heart’s right atrium, then took x-ray photos to document the historic moment.   

    Despite the significance of his discovery, Forssmann was fired immediately for experimenting on himself. Newspapers praised his work, but the medical establishment called him crazy, scorned him and ignored his work, at least initially.  Undeterred, the pioneer repeated his feat a year later, injecting iodine directly into the heart, which made the organ visible on the resulting x-ray.  The era of modern cardiac diagnosis was born.

   For a while, Forssmann continued to experiment with catheterization, reportedly cutting his own veins seventeen times before starting to use dogs in his research. Discouraged by the lack of
acceptance, he  eventually became a country doctor. His pioneering work was finally recognized in 1956 when he was one of three innovators awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine.

   When we apply Werner Forrsmann’s experience spiritually, it has much to teach us.  For starters, the first step for us, too, is to know the diagnostic Literature.  If we have any hope of resuscitating the failing, fragile hearts God brings to us, it’s vital we understand basic, spiritual principles and procedures.  “All Scripture is inspired by God,” says 2 Timothy 3:16, “and is useful to teach us what’s true and  to make us realize what’s wrong in our lives.  It straightens us out and teaches us to do what’s right.  It’s God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipping us for every good thing He wants us to do.”    That includes the strengthening of those around us.

   But it’s not enough to know the Theory, especially when the prevailing opinion in society goes against it.  To prove what we know is true, we must apply those convictions to our own heart.  But be careful.  It’s scary and uncomfortable and, if you inject the iodine of God’s truth into your heart, be prepared to find some things you don’t want to;  painful and disturbing things you’ll need to change.

    “For the word of God is full of living power.  It’s sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires.  It exposes us for what we really are.  Nothing in all creation can hide from him.  Everything’s naked and exposed before his eyes.”  (Heb. 4:12,13)  That, of course, is the first step toward repairing the heart damage that saps our emotional and spiritual vitality.  Every harmful condition must be diagnosed before it can be dealt with.

   When we’re willing to go first and go public with a demonstration of God’s wisdom, love and healing, it shows others they can trust him, too;  that it’s safe to put themselves in his hands. So, like David, we need to say, “Search me, O God, and know my heart;  test me and know my thoughts. Point out in me anything that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”  (Psalm 139:23,24)

   Even then, those who assume they know better will think you’re crazy.  They’ll disdain, distrust or dismiss you but, in the end, your faith will be rewarded with the biggest Prize of all.  Meantime, revealing the inside story could change somebody’s life.
By Rick Gamble, published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of the Followers of Christ church family in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.  Reprint at will in not-for-profit publications.  To receive these free weekly articles via email, send a note to sgamble@bfree.on.ca