This is a story of contrast: of a man’s desperate need and how it was unexpectedly met, and of our desperate need and how God has the solution for each one of us.
Nicole McNeil has worked for years at the DuPont, Washington, Starbucks keeping customers happy while fulfilling their requests for roasted coffee of all descriptions and flavors. Being a good barista, she soon memorized what her regular customers wanted. Such was the case with one of her customers, Vince Villano; she knew his first name and what he wanted to order, but that was about all she knew about him.
One day Vince came in looking particularly sad and downhearted. Not even Nicole’s cheery, “What’s going on, Vince?” could make him smile. She asked him what was wrong, but he brushed her off with, “Oh, it’s a long story!” She told him that her shift ended soon and that if he could wait, she would like to hear his story. He agreed to this.
Vince had reason to be sad. He had a very serious genetic kidney condition called Polycystic Kidney Disease, for which there is no cure. He had reached the point of no return for having to go on dialysis, and he would have to spend hours each week hooked up to a machine which would clean his blood of toxins before returning it to him. Being diagnosed at 30, his kidneys had gradually filled with cysts and had swollen to the size of footballs, even beginning to adhere to other organs.
As far as he could remember, the disease had been in his family as far back as his great-grandmother. Many family members had not developed serious complications until their 50s or even 60s, which was what he was hoping for. But already at 41, his name was on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. The prospects were not good at all, as the usual wait time on the list was four to five years. Most people died while waiting for a new kidney!
“When I was first diagnosed, I felt like, ‘Well, I’m dying,’ ” he said. “It was not my first encounter with mortality. I had some situations in [the] military. But this was really out of my control. There’s nothing you can do. It’s kind of [a] black cloud that hangs over your head all the time.”
Searching for a Solution
Vince had decided to be honest with Nicole in telling her his story. His situation was a hopeless, desperate one. There was not one thing that he could do to save himself. He needed help outside of himself. Every one of us is born into this world with a desperately sinful nature. Our sins separate us from a holy and just God. With our sins witnessing against us, we are on our way to a lost eternity. Jesus described it as “outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:3030And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 25:30)). We, too, needed help outside of ourselves! There is not one thing we could or can do to save ourselves. Without salvation, sin and death are the black cloud that hangs over every one of us!
Later that night, Nicole told her husband Justin all about Vince and his need for a new kidney. Justin’s immediate response was “I have a kidney. He can have mine.” This was his immediate reaction upon hearing Vince’s story. They did, after all, have some things in common. They were both Army vets and they were both dads. While they waited to see if Justin was a match, the two families visited each other and shared a lot of time together, becoming very close.
While Vince waited for a new kidney, the pain increased as well as his exhaustion. It was all he could do to drag himself to work every day. “I can’t sit around,” he said. “It drives me nuts to admit that this thing can beat me.”
You know, it is that way for every one of us. Sin and death and an eternity separated from God will “beat us” if we don’t accept God’s way of salvation. God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus bore the punishment for our sins on the cross. He died that we might live and have eternal life. “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3). We cannot possibly save ourselves by doing good works, religious or otherwise, because “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)).
God’s gift of salvation is by grace. “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-98For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8‑9)). God’s gift of salvation is ONLY through His Son Jesus. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father [God], but by Me [Jesus]” (John 14:66Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)). All we have to do is accept God’s gift of salvation by faith in our heart. “He that believeth on the Son [Jesus] hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth [remains] on him” (John 3:3636He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (John 3:36)).
A Non-Question
The chances of Justin being a perfect kidney match were slim, but when the final results came back, doctors told him that he was as close a match as he could be without being related to Vince. Both families were thrilled with this news, and a date for the kidney transplant was set, which actually fell on Justin’s thirty-sixth birthday.
Vince could hardly wait for this life-changing event to take place. There were so many things that he wanted to do afterwards, like eat steak and watch his children have families — not to mention that a new kidney would give him another 20 good years to live. Vince’s nephrologist, Dr. Partha Raguram, said that a person on dialysis three times a week has a kidney that functions at about 30%, while a person who receives a new kidney will function at about 100%.
Dr. Raguram had some shocking facts to share. At any given time, about 80,000 people are on the kidney transplant list in the U.S.A. Only about 16,000 or 20% actually get a new kidney each year. Because the same genetic kidney disease runs through his own family, he has seen family members die while waiting for a new kidney. Kidneys from live donors are by far the best, and the number of live donors from people that are unrelated has risen from 1% in 1996 to 26% now.
Being a very kind and compassionate person, Justin did not hesitate to offer his kidney. It would cost him a couple of months of recovery and he would be down to one good kidney. But for Vince, the stakes were much higher. Justin realized the gravity of the situation by commenting, “In the end, it really is a life-or-death question. And so, it makes it a non-question.”
The Life-or-Death Question
It is the same with our eternal well-being. The life-or-death question is whether you will accept God’s free gift of salvation. There will be no questions when you stand before God. You either repented of your sins and by faith believed on the Lord Jesus’ death on the cross and His shed blood to save you from a lost eternity, or you didn’t. That is the ONLY choice that will matter when you stand before God!
The kidney transplant was a success for both men. In fact, a month after the operation, Vince’s new kidney was working better than expected! Appetite, energy and normal living were returning to Vince, and Justin was making a full recovery as well. It was a new beginning ... two men, two families who were total strangers were now close and like best friends. It was a beautiful ending to what could have been a tragedy, and both families were grateful and thankful for how well it all turned out.
Accepting God’s gift of salvation goes far beyond our very brief lives here on earth. It has eternal consequences — and we are brought into the family of God. There is a beautiful verse that says, “As many as received Him [Jesus], to them gave He power to become the sons [children] of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:1212But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12)). Instead of being a stranger to God’s grace and salvation, you have the chance today to be brought into His family!
Loving persistence and its wonderful result can be seen in Help for a Rare Disease.