Being Big-Hearted

We don't really keep up with horse races, but about a month ago, we tuned in to watch American Pharoah win the Triple Crown.  He was the first horse in 37 years to win the Triple Crown, winning the Kentucky Derby, The Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes.  We watched the beauty and athleticism as he easily pulled away and won the race by 5 1/2 lengths.

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I've never gone to a horse race and don't keep up with the sport, but the spectacle of it was breath-taking - the pageantry, energy of the crowd, and beauty of the animals. I quickly fired up the "Google Machine" as I wanted to know which horse had won it last.  As I was reading about past winners of the Triple Crown, I began to read about Secretariat.

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Secretariat, a 3 year old colt, won the Triple Crown back in 1973 when he won the Kentucky Derby with a new track record, the Preakness with a new track record, and finally the Belmont Stakes with a new world record that was the fastest 1 1/2 miles in history, outdistancing his nearest competition with a 31 length victory!

How did he do it?

From Wikipedia I learned the following:

In the fall of 1989, Secretariat was afflicted with laminitis—a painful and often incurable hoof condition. When his condition failed to improve after a month of treatment, he was euthanized on October 4 at the age of 19.  Secretariat was buried at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky, given the rare honor of being buried whole (usually only the head, heart, and hooves of a winning race horse are buried, and the rest of the body is cremated).

A necropsy revealed his heart was significantly larger than that of an ordinary horse.  An extremely large heart is a trait that occasionally occurs in Thoroughbreds, linked to a genetic condition passed down via the dam line, known as the "x-factor". 

At the time of Secretariat's death, the veterinarian who performed the necropsy, Dr. Thomas Swerczek, head pathologist at the University of Kentucky, did not weigh Secretariat's heart, but stated, "We just stood there in stunned silence. We couldn't believe it. The heart was perfect. There were no problems with it. It was just this huge engine." Later, Swerczek also performed a necropsy on Sham, who died in 1993. Swerczek did weigh Sham's heart, and it was 18 pounds (8.2 kg). Based on Sham's measurement, and having necropsied both horses, he estimated Secretariat's heart probably weighed 22 pounds (10.0 kg), or about two-and-three-quarters times as large as that of the average horse.

Truly amazing!  His large heart enabled him to pump more blood that carried more oxygen which made him run faster.  He was a freak of nature.  His large heart differentiated him from the other horses.  I would submit that is true in humans as well - not so much in the literal sense, but the figurative.

When people comment that someone has a big heart, it means that they think they are loving and compassionate.  Like Secretariat, having a big heart is a great trait to have.  As Christians, I think it should be a defining trait.  After all, Jesus did say:

John 13:34-35  

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

But the character trait is not a genetic condition.  It is the grace of our Sovereign God who gives it to those who turn to Him and desire it.  If you want to be TRULY victorious in life, far greater than the wins of American Pharoah or Secretariat, you must undergo open heart surgery and allow our Creator to give you a new heart!

Ezekiel 36:26-36  

26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Has the "Great Cardiologist" performed open heart surgery on you?

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