In Michael’s mind, it was those who wear a white coat that change people’s lives. Michael (a second year med student) came to OSU College of Medicine because he wanted to become the kind of person that helped people going through a health crisis. That being said, though Michael had some experience in church growing up, he never anticipated getting involved in a Christian ministry while in medical school. The thought never crossed his mind that these two ideas, helping people and following Jesus, might come together as one unified vision for his life.
Michael’s grandfather was his hero growing up. His parents were divorced before he reached middle school, and his grandfather went to great lengths to care for Michael and his family. Michael’s grandfather was a successful chemical engineer and was very generous with his wealth to make sure Michael’s needs were always being met. Though he didn’t have the frame of reference to use these words at the time, Michael’s grandfather was a tangible expression of grace, a source of stability during a tumultuous season of life.
So when Michael graduated from undergrad, he also pursued a career in chemical engineering. He wanted to be successful like his grandfather in order to have the resources to help others. He was on the right track in so many ways, but for one significant thing: God had nothing to do with this aspiration. Michael was trying to prove his worth and earn his significance through career success and helping others, while being comfortably wealthy at the same time.
Michael began a successful career in engineering. One day, everything changed; he was interacting with his boss at the office, with whom he had a close relationship, and his boss collapsed to floor and died. The event was extremely traumatic for Michael, understandably. He was so shaken he decided he could no longer show up to the same office and face the memory of this trauma day after day. He needed a change of scenery. Michael quit his job and decided to apply for medical school, bringing him eventually to Ohio State.
Soon after arriving at OSU, Michael met another medical student named Teresa. Teresa, a mature believer, noticed Michael and made conversation with him. She listened to Michael describe the trauma that made him quit his job, and his aspiration to help people more directly than he felt he was able to as a chemical engineer. Teresa invited Michael to Bible study in the medical school. Maybe developing a relationship with a loving and sacrificial God would offer Michael the resources he needed to actually become the kind of person he longed to be. Maybe he could pursue a life of helping others without having to earn approval, without having prove his worth.
Michael begin attending the CMDA Bible study, while attending church on Sunday morning for the first time since his childhood. He sensed that his life was beginning to change. After all these years, he finally began to experience a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Michael finally recognized that he didn’t have to bear the burden of being a good person to justify his existence. Rather, he could pursue his goals to help others, rooted in a relationship with God that offered him all the significance he could ever need, by grace.
