God & Grey's

I have a confession to make.

I'm a long time Grey's Anatomy fan.

That is certainly not to say that I condone some of the things that happen on that show. It's not to say that I agree with all the choices that the characters make any more than I agree with all the choices my friends make or all the decisions I've made in my own life, for that matter.

I've been incredibly interested in how the show deals with Kepner's character, given that she professes to be a Christian. As the years passed and Sarah Drew (April Kepner) gained more screen time, I started wondering if Sarah is a Christian, in her real life. I came to the conclusion that one of three things had to be happening.

1. Sarah Drew is a Christian.
2. Sarah Drew is an incredible actress.
3. Someone on the writing team is either a Christian or just does a phenomenal job portraying the Christian experience.

It turns out that Sarah Drew is the daughter of a Presbyterian minister. She identifies herself as an evangelical Christian. (I also happen to think she's a pretty darn good actress.)

I was finally catching up on last week's Grey's Anatomy episode this afternoon. For those of you that don't watch the show, Kepner and Jackson Avery recently got married. The trouble is that Avery doesn't believe in God. The fact that he's smokin' hot doesn't change the fact that they're unequally yoked. It's causing problems, y'all.

In Thursday's episode, Kepner and Avery were both involved with a pediatric deaf patient whose parents didn't want her to receive cochlear implants. Avery was angry that the parents didn't choose to give their deaf child a chance to hear. Kepner argued that because the parents had decided against the implants, it didn't disqualify them as parents, or make them bad ones. One thing led to another in their argument and suddenly their faith (and lack of) became the center of the heated debate. The following incredible scene occurred. WATCH IT.

 

I love that scene. I love the way that Jesse Williams portrays Avery's feelings--he loves her but just can't understand how she could place her faith in a God that he's certain doesn't exist. I love how Sarah taps into the devastation that believers feel when we want nothing more than for our friends, family members, spouses and children to find the joy, acceptance, and eternal security that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ultimately, a light bulb exploded in my mind when I saw this scene. I'd never thought of this spiritual tug of war as a game of ridiculous versus pity with eternal implications. But, suddenly, there it was. I think the non-believers--the atheists and even the agnostics--look upon evangelical Christians with sadness over how ridiculous we are. Anyone who could be so silly as to believe such an absurd fairy tale is clearly nuts. Guess what? I get it. It sounds nuts. It's so much easier to believe in science and medicine. And I'm not saying that from a place of sarcasm. If you've never seen the glory of Christ, a gaseous explosion is certainly more believable.

But, then there are those of us who have been led to faith. We know true peace, indescribable joy, and everlasting love. I think, deep down, we feel sorry for the ones who haven't met our God. We ache and yearn for them to meet Him. We know that in seeing a sunset, the freckled nose of a child, or a flower on the verge of blooming, we have seen the glory of Christ. I know that I shy away from really sharing what I believe because I want so badly to love on people and not to frighten them away with all the JESUS FREAK and the THUMPITY THUMP OF MY BIBLE. I want them to see Christ in me and I want them to want what I have. Because what I have is glorious and it's absolutely free for the taking.

So what I don't say to everyone I meet, but what I know, is exactly what Sarah got to say on Primetime television. "This is who I am at my core. This defines me." This is what I happen to hold above everything else. This is my hope. Because without it, there is no moral absolute. Without it, I have a few fleeting moments of breath and then I just cease to exist. Without it, I have nothing. With it, I have everything.

Without it, my eyes are veiled.

With it, I see the image of God.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4  "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."