Imitating Christ's example of humility

It was February 15, 1921. In the operating room of the Kane Summit Hospital, a doctor was performing an appendectomy. In many ways, the events leading to the surgery were uneventful. The patient had complained of severe abdominal pain. And the diagnosis by Dr. Evan O'Neil Kane was clear: an inflamed appendix that needed to be removed.

But really, there are two remarkable novelties of this particular operation. The first is that it marked the first use of local anesthesia in major surgery. You see, Dr. Kane was a crusader against the hazards of general anesthesia, believing that local was much safer. But while many of his colleagues and patients agreed with him, he had trouble finding someone to step forward and be the first person to have an appendectomy under local anesthesia.

This brings us to the second novelty of this operation: Because Dr. Kane was unable to find a volunteer for the procedure, he operated on himself!

In order to gain his patients' trust and show his care for them, Dr. Kane did the most effective thing… he became a patient himself, putting his own well-being at risk for the sake of others. And in much the same way, that's just what Jesus did. He humbled Himself by taking on human form and subjecting Himself to a human death.

So as you strive to imitate Christ in everything you do, be willing to humble yourself for the sake of showing others you care for them!