He Survived Cardiac Arrest. Was It a Sign From God?

Yeah. What are we talking about tonight? >> So, I'll get right to it. A few years ago, I had a near-death experience. My heart stopped for 3 minutes. Uh, I was incredibly fortunate in that I had just gotten home from a day's work and I lived in the center of town, so my partners were home and emergency services were able to arrive and uh, resuscitate me quite quickly to the point where I I made it through the experience, you know, relatively I don't want to say completely unscathed, but uh, with not not too much worse from the wear and the the the reason for the cardiac arrest was basically uh you know unassignable. They they could not find out any any reason for it >> really. >> But >> there was no medical explanation. >> Correct. You know they they they were able to uh an array of tests including genetic testing so on and so forth but they they couldn't find an assignable cause. But uh my my issue was is kind of this. So, a few years before that, I had kind of convinced myself that I had already accomplished what my, you know, basically my life's greatest work. Um, and to be fair, it was kind of a big deal. I I was involved in something. I had the the good fortune of being involved in something that gave me the opportunity to save uh quite a large number of lives, you know, more than I could. I I don't want to tip my hand, but uh I'm I'm just going to gently nod and and say there's not too much more I can I can say about this, but you're you're on on the right path. >> Wow. Okay. So, I'm on the right path. >> I had the the opportunity. >> You you were involved in something that ended up being life-saving for a large number of people. >> Correct. Okay. >> And uh so I convinced myself that I had already >> Now, this was your interpretation. For some reason, you told yourself, "Having done that, really, I've completed my purpose here on Earth, and if I check out anytime from now on, I I won't have any regrets. I'll feel that I've lived a purposeful life." Basically, that >> essentially like I I kind of had this idea that I I I I knew what the rest of my life would kind of look like. Um but also at the same time my my family we started thinking about having our first child and I think you know these two ideas having achieved my greatest work and also raising a child. >> Well those things are in conflict. Yes. >> They're not exactly fully compatible. Exactly. >> No. So my my my thing is this. The the improbability of both what happened and my survival, it it made me feel as though the universe had almost contorted itself around me to permit me to to to live which feels quite presumptuous to say. My question is this is is it is it arrogant or or you know indeed blasphemous even to think of this this medical event as maybe like a course cre course course correction from from a creator. >> No, not at all. >> You know, maybe a little bit of think hubris in my thinking that I would know how the rest of my life would turn out. >> No, no, no. It's not arrogant at all. Uh it would be arrogant to think that it was random. God is infinite. It's not like things are hard for him, you know. So God can pull out all the stops and orchestrate unlikely or almost impossible events on behalf of one solitary individual. And it's not arrogant for that individual to see it as such because God is infinite. He could do this for you and 8 billion other people. How many people there are in the world? 8 billion something like that. Who was that guy from Texas&M? accept who was the guy from Texas A&M who figured out how to make the wheat genetically engineered or modified the wheat like >> oh Norman Borlo >> Borlo yeah you're Norman Borlo you're either Jonas Sulk or Norman Borlo he saved billions of people they said that there was going to be mass starvation once that there's I think they said once there's four billion people there's not enough arable land on planet earth to to to provide nutrition and then he figured out how to make the the crops grow more than they were and then now we've got like eight billion people. Yeah. So you Yeah. Um listen, divine providence is a real thing and sometimes it's uncanny. It's it's not arrogant to think that God does stuff like this for us. Um it's it's not hard for him. [laughter] It's not like, oh, little old me, you went to all that trouble. It this this is how >> That's kind of what I'm struggling with. No, but it's it's not a >> it's not it's not there's no basis >> difficult to accept. >> No, no, >> I understand. >> Everything is miraculous. Everything listen first of all you have to understand [sighs] God is creating everything something from nothing at every single second. Existence as we know it what we call existence is not self-perpetuating. So everything is being propelled out of absolute nothingness into somethingness at every single second. You know that's the heavy lifting and even that's not difficult for God. So to say that he would orchestrate this extremely unlikely dramatic event to communicate to you and now I'm not say let me with the major caveat I'm not saying that I can take it upon myself to say I can interpret the meaning of this event for you. I mean to an extent actually I can interpret it. I can uh because there are certain truths that are so [snorts] universal and consistent and ubiquitous that I can reliably uh cite those truths as having some um having something to do with your story. So for instance, um I I I don't think it's a stretch. I'd be comfortable saying that the fact that you're still alive means you do have more to accomplish here. But, you know, that's that's not so hard for me to say that because I would say that about anyone who's still on this side of the grass. I would say clearly there's something that your creator has in mind for you today. Now, in your case, that came about through a very unusual story, but the unusual story doesn't make it harder for God. So, it's not like that's, you know, the decisive factor there. So, yeah, you do have what to accomplish still. Can I suggest something to you as maybe like a way of looking at it, >> please? >> Okay. Seems like you accomplished something. And again, I I understand you don't want to like uh out yourself here, so we're not going to get too specific. We already said you're either Jonah Sulk or Norman Borlo, but you accomplished something, it sounds to me, at a relatively young age that >> Correct. >> Right. Okay. that has massive repercussions, like global repercussions, a huge thing. Okay. And the way you took that was like, wow. After someone does something like that, how do you top that? You don't like you just basically you're done. That's it. Lord, take me now. I I'm not topping that. You know what I would like to Yeah. So, what I would like to suggest to you is this. You know, I was saying like for God who's infinite, nothing's is is particularly too big for him. By the same token, for God who's infinite, nothing is too small for him. And that means that there may be things left for you to accomplish here that are quote unquote small things, but they're no less important from the perspective of infinity as this massive thing that you did. Now you mentioned >> a child right? >> Right. There's an expression to the world you may be one person but to one person you may be the world and I think with parents and children you know to a certain extent at least to our kids until our kids get to a certain age we are their worlds and there are things that >> smart people talented people often spurn they turn their nose up at because they see it as too mundane quotidian prosaic it's like Oh, I'm this genius who knows how to save the world and now you want me to go, you know, play catch on the front lawn with the little kid. Like, what a misuse of talent. [laughter] [gasps] That would be arrogant. By the way, you mentioned arrogance before. That would be arrogant. >> It can be just as meaningful from the perspective of infinity if you really understand what infinity is. And I I think that you do because I think you're uh it's an understatement to say you're an intelligent person. So you understand what infinity means. I mean it's obvious um from the pers from from the true perspective of inf infinity there is nothing too insignificant that it would not carry meaning in the eyes of God. And it may be that the first part of your life was accomplishing massive things that are on the front page of the newspaper and the rest of your life may be about accomplishing things that nobody will ever know about except for you and and your family. And I wouldn't say that one is more important than the other. It may be different. >> Very true. Sounds like it's a different chapter in your life. And maybe that near-death experience is sort of like the the semicolon between these two chapters, but it's no less important. >> Since this event transpired, I am now a father to an 18-month-old girl who's taught me new everything about the new meanings about devotion and and life in general. >> Yeah. >> So, you're you're absolutely correct. This has been a a a completely different chapter of my life but no less meaningful >> and not just meaningful subjectively from your perspective. I'm saying objectively speaking its value in the grand scheme of things is no less than this massive thing that you accomplished previously. No less important. No one's going to write it up in the newspaper, but it's no less important. >> Absolutely. Thank you so much. I I really appreciate it. I I appreciate your uh calling in and thank you for your uh gifts to humanity. And I'm talking about raising your 18-month old daughter. That is your gift to humanity. And in addition, okay, you invented the polio vaccine or whatever you did. Okay. [laughter] Take care. Okay. Be well.