Sometimes nurses and doctors have funny relationships. One thing doctors do is write orders. These are things they want done for the patient — whether it be medications, activity, or treatments. The doctor puts the order in and nurses follow it…well most-time. One “funny” of the relationship is when either the nurse or the doctor refers to the “doctor’s order” as a “doctor’s suggestion.” This pokes a little fun at either the doctor’s perception that a nurse didn’t follow the order or the nurse’s internal thoughts of “I ain’t doing it.” Orders or suggestions…hmmm??
On the beach vacation we are having, it started out a bit rocky. Rainy and riptides. Boo!! Lifeguards were out a lot on the beach, whistling orders for swimmers to come back further in to shore. Red flags were flying that marked a large no-swimming area. We eventually learned that a 19 year old girl out on a paddle board had gotten caught in a riptide and drowned. They couldn’t revive her. It was her last big hoorah before college! So incredibly sad! That’s why all the fuss. The red flags and life guards ordering “knee-deep only.” But after a few days of that, the boys were getting a bit annoyed. “Do we have to listen to that guy?” “Can they really stop us from going out over our knees?” Was it really an order? Or merely a suggestion?
Because, truly, the beach and the waves looked perfect. Not huge and forbidding at all. The area marked “no swimming” looked exactly like the areas where you could get in. We were getting a little tired of obeying the lifeguard’s orders!
It made me think of the 10 Orders, Commandments, Suggestions…however you want to think of them. As I made my case to Jake, the life guard was just trying to keep us safe. As does our Creator, when he suggests the way we should go. Even though it seemed the lifeguard’s orders were keeping us from fun, it was ordered for our well-being. Sometimes we regard those 10 Orders in the same way. Keeping us from having fun the way we want to have fun. I mean, do we really have to listen to them?
Nope, we don’t. It’s incredible to me this God we believe in, who made heaven and earth, and is all-powerful, believes 100% in freedom and liberty. He gives us the choice to follow his suggestions or go in past our knees. He lets us decide to heed the warning whistles or go swim.
I’m so grateful for our Father who loves us so much! Like the lifeguard driving back up to the riptided-no-swim area, whistling over and over all day long to the knuckleheads, our Father doesn’t give up on us either. He calls us back over and over and points to safe waters even when we are the ones being knuckleheads. Because of his everlasting love, he is willing that none of us should drown.
Order or suggestion? Do I gotta or not? In the end, it’s our choice to make.
“Choose life, that you might live…Listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him.” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)