Good morning, Meetpastordan Readers. It’s good to be up and running again. We are in our new villa, and this week the boxes are unpacked and moved and I can make my way across the room to my office. And we finally have internet! I am sorry I missed last week, but in all honesty, we were facing the daunting task of bringing order to the chaos around us.
As I’ve mentioned in many of my previous posts, quite often I think I have a subject in my head that will take form on Monday morning, but today – like so many others – when I awakened, something entirely different had replaced my previous thoughts. Now I want to write a tribute to my dear friend John, who is facing imminent death from the insidious disease of cancer. Pam and I had the privilege of visiting with him again yesterday.
John is a gentle giant. During healthier times, his towering 6’5”+ frame weighed more than 240 pounds. A hug from him would completely engulf me. Even standing on my tip toes, I could barely get my arms around him. Even though cancer has ravaged his body, John insisted (and struggled) to get up yesterday to greet me and Pam in his customary manner. The body I hugged yesterday revealed the toll of its invader.
We met John almost a decade ago. Pam’s father was in a hospital in Alton, Illinois and John’s mother was also there in the room next door. Pam and John met in the hallway outside their respective rooms, and low and behold they discovered they both had roots in Calhoun County, Illinois. In fact, upon closer scrutiny they discovered they were related – but so is everyone else in Calhoun County.
John and Pam developed a special friendship, both professionally and personally. John is a scientist turned HR professional, who retired early from Monsanto, but then continued to offer his expertise as a consultant. It was during this time that he took Pam under his wing and continued to mentor her as she changed directions in her career. My friendship with John developed more on the spiritual level, because he was a man who not only professed his faith, but one who lived it out in love and compassion for his fellow man.
John gallantly waged his own war against this dreaded disease. He was under the care of the best doctors at Washington University’s Siteman Cancer Center, but because of his background as a scientist, he would do his own research and was fluent at conversing with the doctors regarding his treatment and prognosis. When conventional methods were exhausted, he opted for experimental treatments, but it wasn’t long before the toll on his body was evident and painful, and he ultimately decided to discontinue the torture. John is now at home with his loving family under the care of hospice.
Psalm 103:8 tells us, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” That verse also describes the John that I know and love. Let me give some examples. When someone is in need, he IS the Good Samaritan. Not only has he come to our aid on numerous occasions, but he exemplifies being of service to others. For instance, when his family needed a second car, John bought a truck for the expressed purpose of loaning it to his friends when they needed a truck. If someone needs to borrow just the right tool from his “man cave tool collection”; or needs help moving a refrigerator up the stairs; or needs advice and guidance, John is the “go to” guy. I have never known him to be too busy or too disengaged to say, “Sorry, I can’t”. Even if it cost him something to say yes, he would give ‘till it hurt’. Generosity in every sense of the word…time, talent and treasure – beyond measure.
During this dark period in John’s life, I feel I’ve have had the opportunity to grow closer to him. Mark, a close friend and spiritual mentor, Pam and I, and a multitude of his church family, have been praying for a miracle in John. This could be one of those times when it would be easy to say, “Where is God in this circumstance?” When looking at John’s current condition, it would be easy to misinterpret the circumstance. “John is a Godly man, a follower of Jesus Christ. “Why is God not hearing our prayers?” Is that what the circumstance tells us? I personally believe that question is wrapped in a difference of perspective between our way of looking at life and death and God’s way of seeing life and death. To us, life marks a beginning and death mark an end. To God’s way of thinking, there is no such thing as time – no such thing as beginning and ending.
I believe God is a sovereign God. We are told in Ephesians 1:3 that even before He created the world he had a “plan”, and this plan would last forever. And what was that plan? “His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us everything he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people.” (Ephesians 1: 5,13-14)
I believe King Solomon had it right in Ecclesiastes 3 when he stated, “There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven: a time to sow; a time to reap: a time to sing; a time to dance: a time to laugh; a time to cry: a time to live and a time to die.” If John is not healed now, while he is with us, does that mean that God didn’t hear our prayer? I don’t believe that’s what the circumstance tells us. In God’s eyes, death is not an end. It’s a transition into a new existence with God, Jesus and all other Christ-followers. Revelation 21:4 tells us, “he will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” I believe this verse is crystal clear. John will be healed.
One of my favorite promises in the Bible can be found in Roman 8:28: “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.” Wow! Sometimes it is difficult to see the good in all circumstances, isn’t it? But is that promise true? I believe it is, even in this circumstance.
Just as Christ came as the Word incarnate to model the truth of God’s Word and to show us how to live it out, John has been a shining example of faith, strength and courage to all who have been on this journey with him. John is at a place of peace and acceptance right now because of his faith. He knows his eternal destiny is sealed because he is in Christ. Isn’t that what all of us desire when we are ready to make the transition from this existence into paradise?
John has been surrounded by a loving family and a gold-mine of true friends, and I know we all have been moved and inspired by his courage, strength and dignity through this horrific ordeal. While we will no doubt feel a sense void and grief at the loss of John, I know we all can draw our strength from the same loving God who will welcome John home. Thank you, God, for your perfect, timeless plan, and thank you for working for the good in all things for those who love you and are called to your purpose. Even though we may not see it wrapped-up the way we want it or in the time-frame we expected it, we know it’s true because the Creator of the Universe; the omnipotent, omniscience, omnipresent, Godhead of the Trinity; a loving, merciful, graceful and forgiving God has made that promise to us. I believe that promise is both our answer and our source of strength.
An obvious lesson from this scenario is…be of service to others, and never hesitate to tell those you love how much they mean to you.
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