10/22/12 In college, and especially med school, the lecture course preceded the laboratory experience. There was a certain level of understanding following the lecture, but the concepts only crystallized after the laboratory or clinical experience. We actually saw a person in heart failure or saw the results of ministering digitalis medication.
Well there is another lecture course in life that being what one reads in the Bible. However acting the admonitions out in the lab (life) is the challenge.
In dealing with the issue of unforegiveness, the lecture outline (Bible) suggests “not taking into an account a wrong suffered” to avoid being unforgiving. Just as I was able to make that work in the laboratory (life) most of the time, I heard the second lecture describe “disregard” as the word to achieve the same end but at a higher level.
Disregard was taken to the laboratory (life) and was more of a challenge. It was especially a challenge to disregard being disregarded. This is especially so when you reach out to another in good faith and motive, even a relative, and there is not even a response. This now allows the concept of rejection to surface. No one likes to experience rejection, yet it is a common life (laboratory) experience. Even worse in the laboratory is the fear of rejection surfacing in life. Then I am reminded that Jesus came unto His own (Jews people) and they received Him not. Wow! I am not the first one to have this experience. Then the lecturer says, “have the same mind (attitude) in me as was in Jesus”. That is a high order. He said, “forgive them, they do not know what they are doing”. I cannot do this. Then I learn that I was not supposed to be able to do this in my own power. This laboratory (life) experience will only be successful by God’s grace. Now, I am in the process of getting the lecture principles worked out in the lab.
The lecture does not come to reality until it is worked out in the laboratory. It seems like life (laboratory) offers lots of opportunity to grasp the lecture principles. Sometimes laboratory experiments fail. In that case we must repeat them. Thankfully we are given many opportunities to repeat the life (laboratory) experiences before we are given a passing grade or graduate.
