I enjoy reading scientific articles and pretending that I understand them; like how gold is made from exploding supernovas and how quantum computers work.
Recently, I read an article on the coagulation cascade in humans. The coagulation (or clotting) cascade is the process by which blood forms into a scab (or a clot).
As usual, the article was all pretty much gibberish to me:
“Initially triggered by either intrinsic or extrinsic release of chemical mediators that have triggered the Common Pathway (Factor X) to be released, the following clotting cascade occurs: -I Fibringen, -II Prothrombin, -III Tissue Factor, -IV Calcium Ions, -V Ace Globulin, -VI Prothrombinase, -VII Antihaemophilic Factor A, -VIII Plasma Thromboplastin Component, -IX Stuart Factor.”1
Got that?
The thing that jumped out at me when I read that paragraph, though, was the ninth and final step in the coagulation process: “-IX Stuart Factor.”
Whoa. Who’s Stuart?
Somehow some guy named Stuart has gotten himself immortalized as the culmination of the coagulation cascade.
Apparently, the next time we watch a scab form after we stab our hand trying to get that obstinate nut out of an avocado, we should shout, “Thank you, Stuart!”
Or when we nick our chin shaving and can’t stop the bleeding with a piece of TP, we should ask, “Where’s Stuart when you need him?”
I like it, though, that Stuart is just part of a very complex healing process. Without all the other steps, Stuart would be useless.
The point I’m getting at is that we Christians are essential, but useless when we try to heal people alone. It’s the body of Christ consistently surrounding that person with his love that heals them. One blood cell cannot form a scab over a wound. In the same way, it takes more than one Christian to “coagulate” around someone who is hurting.
Coagulation is one reason why we use teams to serve their widowed and single parents in our churches. Our care receivers not only need to be loved, they need to see our love for each other. It’s those fibrous relationships among the team members themselves that provide the long term protection and nourishment our care receivers need to experience healing.
Maybe we should all thank Stuart for a little insight into Christian living.
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
Since 2003 New Commandment Men’s Ministries has helped hundreds of churches throughout North American and around the world recruit teams of men who permanently adopt their widowed and single parents in their congregations for the purpose of donating two hours of service to them one Saturday morning each month. We accomplish this with a free training site called New Commandment Men’s Ministry
Learn how to mobilize your men’s ministry to meet every pressing need in your church here.
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Learn how to form teams of men for every widow, single mom
and fatherless child in your church at NewCommandment.org.
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- Emergency Medical Paramedic, Clotting Cascade
