More Than Medicine
More Than Medicine
DWDP: The Love of God.
Can true love withstand the test of time and war? Discover the extraordinary story of John and Maria in this heart-wrenching episode of More Than Medicine. Join Dr. Robert Jackson as he recounts the poignant tale of a stern quartermaster and a young Colombian woman whose love blossomed in the late 1930s, only to be torn apart by the sudden outbreak of World War II. You'll be captivated by their unwavering commitment as John leaves Maria waiting in her wedding dress, and how destiny brings them back together decades later after John's first wife's death. This narrative will pull at your heartstrings and remind you of the resilience and power of love.
Through the incredible journey of John and Maria, we explore the parallels between their enduring romance and the greatest love story of all—the unconditional love of God for humanity. Dr. Jackson uses personal anecdotes and biblical insights to emphasize that nothing can separate us from God's grace. John’s determination to find Maria after so many years mirrors God's steadfast love for us, offering a powerful testament to faith, hope, and love. Tune in for an episode that promises to inspire and uplift, leaving you with a renewed sense of the boundless nature of true love.
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Welcome to More Than Medicine, where Jesus is more than enough for the ills that plague our culture and our country. Hosted by author and physician, Dr Robert Jackson.
Speaker 2:Papa, can you tell me a story? Do you really want me to tell you a story? Well, you go, get your brother and your sisters and I will tell you a story. Well, you go, get your brother and your sisters and I will tell you a story. Welcome to Devotions with Dr Papa. Gather around, grab your Bible and let's look into the written word, which reveals to us the living word, which is our Lord, jesus Christ.
Speaker 2:I'm continuing in a series of lessons that discuss lessons that I have learned from my patients that reveal to me biblical insights I want to share with you about a patient of mine and his wife. That was just the most beautiful love story that I could ever ever share with you. Oh, probably 30 years ago, a patient came into my office. His name was John and he was a very physically strong man and very stern and no nonsense, and he had with him a wife who was probably 20 some years younger than him and her name was Maria. Maria was from Colombia, south America, and you know there was a 20-year age gap between the two of them. And, as I said, john was always very stern, except when he spoke to Maria, at which time his eyes would light up and sparkle and his hard stern face would turn soft and he would smile, and it was obvious that she had a big impact in his life. So over years of time I inquired about their relationship and how they met one another, and over time the story came out.
Speaker 2:Turns out that in the late 1930s, john was a quartermaster on a ship that would come every three months into port in a port city in Colombia, south America, and when the ship landed in port he would stay at a motel right there in the port city and Maria worked in the motel where he stayed, and the two of them became attracted to one another and they became an item. And every three months when he stayed in the motel, the two of them would talk and they became romantically involved, although he was 20 years older than she. Well, on one of his visits to the port, the two of them decided that they would be married, and the very next time he came into port, they would have her family and the priest and some friends meet there in the motel and they would plan to be married. Well, unfortunately, at that time World War II was breaking out, and so when he came into port the next time, rather than being able to stay a week, he was only going to be there for two days, and so he told her that she needed to get her family there quickly because his short stay was going to be abbreviated. And in fact, when she was going to get the family and the priest, the commander of his ship, the captain of the ship, called everyone back to the ship quickly because they had to leave on short notice. And John told the manager of the motel tell Maria, I will be back in three months and we will get married then, but I have to leave now. And so he left. She arrived at the motel in her white wedding dress with her flowers and her family and the priest, and unfortunately John was gone. But the manager of the motel told Maria John said he would be back.
Speaker 2:Well, the ship that John was on was conscripted by the American military as a merchant marine ship in World War II and John was gone in the war for four or five years. After the war, his ship, or whatever happened, something happened to the merchant marine ship and it just never was allowed to go back to South America After the war. John had no money, he had no resources and he had no way to go back to South America. He ended up marrying another woman and was married for 20 years. He had two children, but then his wife contracted some kind of cancer and she died. So all of this story was slowly unpacked to me over multiple visits to my medical office.
Speaker 2:Well, after she died, john remembered Maria and by this time he had financial resources. So he bought an airline ticket, he flew to South America, he rented a car and he went back to the port city and walked into the motel and the manager recognized him immediately. Okay, and he said Señor Juan, you are here, you are back. And he said Is Maria still here? And he says Si, si, señor, she work here, she still here. He said Is she married? He said oh no, señor Juan, she is waiting for you. And he said Well, then call her, call her family and call the priest, because I am back and I'm ready to be married. And call the priest because I am back and I'm ready to be married. And within two hours she arrived in the same wedding dress that she had worn 20 years before, with her flowers, with her family and with the priest, and within two hours they were married.
Speaker 2:That is an amazing story. And when I met them they had already been married for a number of years. John was in his 70s, she was in her mid-50s and they were deeply in love with one another. I took care of them for another 20 years until John was in his early 90s and he had prostate issues, had a surgery, went downhill quickly and then died. Maria was devastated when John died Now. She was in her 70s at this time and she was so depressed. For a couple of years I took care of her while she was depressed and then ultimately she went back to South America to be with her family. But that whole story is just an amazing story. It's an amazing love story.
Speaker 2:And when I share that story, my female friends listen to it and they just go oh. And when I share it with my friends who are married my married friends they just hold hands and they gaze lovingly into each other's eyes. And when I share this story with my friends who are soon to be married, they look into each other's eyes and they just wonder will you love me like that? Well, that whole story reminds me of the greatest love story of all, when our Heavenly Father pursued you and me and God demonstrated His love for us and even when we were rebels against God, rebels and sinners that Christ died for us. You see, greater love has no man than this, that a man should lay down his life for his friend. Jesus is the one who said that.
Speaker 2:And then Jeremiah tells us that God and God is the one speaking here through the prophet he said I loved you with an everlasting love and I have drawn you with loving kindness. Now, brothers and sisters, let's understand clearly that God has always loved you, from before the beginning of time, from before the foundation of the world, before there were any footsteps heard in the halls of history. God has known you and loved you. There's nothing you and I can do to make God love us more or love us less. God's love for us is steadfast and eternal. He loves you and me with an everlasting love. There's nothing you can do to make God stop loving you, and there's nothing you can do, nothing you can say and nowhere you can go to ever escape the love of God.
Speaker 2:Now, when my children were small, the love of God. Now, when my children were small, I used to say to my children your daddy loves you. And there's nothing you can do, nothing you can say and nowhere you can go that will make your daddy stop loving you. I would purposefully do that repeatedly to make them secure in their earthly father's love, but also to teach them the truth of their heavenly father's love, which is greater than the heavens, are above the earth, than any earthly father's love could ever be. I would tell my children that I love you more than all the stars in the sky. I love you more than all the fish in the sea. I love you more than all the birds in the sky and I love you more than all the sand on the seashore. But as much as I love you, god in heaven loves you more. And then I would look at them and I would say how do I know that? And I would say because God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life. And then I would quote Romans 5, 8 to them.
Speaker 2:But God demonstrated his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners, christ died for us. You see, but because his great love for us, god, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead with Christ, even when we were dead, spiritually dead in transgressions. It is by grace you have been saved, thank the Lord. It is by grace you have been saved. It's not by going to church. It's not by going to Sunday school or singing in the choir, or by reading your Bible, or by giving money to the church or by being a good citizen. It is by God's grace you have been saved. How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the children of God, and that is what we are. You see, the Bible tells us that as many as receive him to them God gives the right to be the children of God, even to as many as who believe in his name.
Speaker 2:Dear listeners, god the Father has loved you with an everlasting love, forever established in heaven. He has loved you with an unconditional love, without strings attached. He has loved you with a sacrificial love that would give His only begotten Son to purchase your redemption. Did you catch that? The only God, the holy God, loves you from eternity, past enough to give his only son as your substitute to die your death and pay your sin debt. That means Jesus, the God-man, gave his life for you because you're so beautiful, no, because you're so handsome, no Because you're so smart. No, it's because of God's love. Jesus, the God-man, gave his life for you, because of God's love.
Speaker 2:So what should our response be to this holy and sacrificial love? Well, the only appropriate response would be that we would confess our sins and submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God and, more than that, that you would live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. You see, that's the only appropriate response to this sacrificial love of God. And then, lastly, and so we know and rely on the love of God for us, us, god is love In his essential being. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in him. You see, living in love is the thing that identifies Christian folks as being in God.
Speaker 2:John and Maria's love story was a beautiful depiction of earthly love. Jesus' love for you is a beautiful depiction of our Heavenly Father's love for you and me. It's the greatest love story ever told. Share it with your children, share it with your grandchildren, share it with your neighbors and friends. It's an amazing love story that deserves to be told over and over again. Well, you're listening to Devotions with Dr Papa. If you like what you hear, then follow, like, share, download and then tell all your friends about Devotions with Dr Papa. And until next week, may the Lord bless you real good.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to this edition of More Than Medicine. For more information about the Jackson Family Ministry, dr Jackson's books, or to schedule a speaking engagement, go to their Facebook page, instagram or their webpage at jacksonfamilyministrycom. This podcast is produced by Bob Sloan Audio Production at bobsloancom.
