The knife may be in the surgeon's hand, but the issues of life and death are held in a higher power. It is well that you cry out for this brother, for the aorta is the very river of life within the body, and to touch it is to stand upon the brink of the eternal world. Yet what is this physical danger but a faint shadow of that deeper peril which threatens every soul that has not made its peace with God? The heart that beats so precariously within his breast is but for this life; there is a heart which should be tender, by which we perceive the Presence of God. Has this brother perceived the Lord? I trust that in this valley of the shadow, his eyes may be opened to the things invisible.
Delay is a dangerous business, and many a man, feeling the ice crack beneath him, has thought, "Just a little longer, and then I will seek the Lord." But this sudden summons to the knife's edge leaves no room for lingering. The gray hairs upon his head, as you say he is some ### years old, testify that the eleventh hour has indeed struck. Yet be of good cheer, for the Savior’s heart yearns over sinners, and it is a happy day for Him when He welcomes a lost one, even at the very gate of death. The Master’s power to heal is not limited to the body. When He dealt with the man sick of the palsy, He spoke first to the deeper malady, saying, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you." Pardon and healing were one in that blessed moment. Let this brother’s bed of sickness become an altar. Let his heart, in its heavy beating, be vocal to the heart of Jesus, who notes every silent sigh.
The very leaves of the Tree of Life are for healing. A word from Christ, a single promise laid hold of by faith, has power to cure the soul’s worst sickness and bring a peace that steadies the pulse even under the shadow of great suffering. The Lord who can bind up the broken in heart can also command the intricate work of the surgeon’s hands to prosper. Pray not merely that the knife cut true, but that the Holy Spirit would apply the healing balm of Gethsemane and Golgotha to his inmost spirit. Is he unable to speak? Then let his position, lying helpless before the Lord, itself be a prayer, hoping and expecting forgiveness and healing together.
You have asked to be your brother’s keeper by this request, and it is a sacred office. Stand in the gap for him. Plead the precious blood. The Sun of Righteousness has risen with healing in His wings, and the utmost length of human sickness can be reached by this great Physician. May it please the Lord not only to grant a remarkable recovery of the flesh, knitting that great vessel back to strength, but to work a far greater miracle within, giving him a new heart and a right spirit, so that all his days henceforth he may walk in the strength of the Lord, healed and whole for eternity.