Tom certainly did not want to die, and Marianne definitely did not want God to take him from her either, but they both trusted in God’s plan, no matter what the ‘earthly’ outcome would be. They truly understood the meaning of the words of St. Paul to the Romans, that it is God, not us, who is in control and that “…in everything God works for the good with those who love him, who are called to his purpose.” And perhaps it is not how Tom lived his life that was an inspiration, although I am certain it was, but more importantly it was how he lived it while he was dying that deeply affected mine. You see I truly believe that all things happen for a reason and while we may not understand nor see the purpose behind all that happen to us, we must have faith and trust in God’s plan for us. There is good in everything. This is a bold statement and one that many would scoff at, and perhaps even think is crazy. But that’s the thing about faith, it doesn’t make sense…it doesn’t have to.
God put us on earth to enjoy His creation and for us to be happy. But in reality, even if we live to be 100 years old, and most of us will not, that time is minuscule in relation to eternity. We spend so much time trying to keep ourselves looking young and accumulating possessions and when we die, none of it, is coming with us.
Why is it that so many people try to keep a ‘death grip’ on their life in this world? Perhaps it is reflected in the lyrics to the blues song sung by Coco Montoya, ‘…Ya know I hate to leave this old world, cause I don’t know what the next one is all about’. This phenomenon however is not confined only to nonbelievers, but the faithful as well. I suspect it is because as human beings living everyday in this world we are easily distracted into thinking that our appearance and worldly possessions actually matter. After all we are weak and frail, emotionally and sometimes spiritually, and often need to boost our physical self to feel happy. There is nothing inherently wrong with this as long as we remember what is most important to us long-term, and I mean ‘long term’! Personally, I am guilty of this as well. Quite a few years back when I was single and had few responsibilities, I used to work out regularly in the gym, lifting weights. Three or four times a week, for at least 2 – 3 hours at time, I trained intensely. Often, during my work out it would occur to me…I spend so much time and effort focusing on my physical health, that if I spent a fraction of this time on my spiritual life, how much better a person I would be and how much closer to God could I be! But that thought, though it frequently recurred in my mind, would dissipate almost as quickly as I moved on to my next set. It would only be years later when an injury sidelined my weight training that I would finally start doing my ‘spiritual reps’.
But I digress….Assume that through the scientific method and intensive research using our (God-given) intellectual power we discover the fountain of youth. Thus ends all illness and disease. No more cancer, no more lives stripped of their vitality by the ravages of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, no more tragic deaths of mothers and young children. Our physical beings live forever or at least for a long, long, long time. Then what? I am not saying we should not try to find cures but I believe all life is sacred both from a philosophical and Christian perspective. So do we indirectly or directly promote the death of one being for another? How do you make that choice? How can you? And to what end?
Glioblastoma multiforme is a monster of a brain tumor. For years it has proved to be a stronger and better adversary than anything we have used to kill it. Surgery, radiation, chemotherapy. If we have been able use something successfully to treat it, it mutates into something resistant and more aggressive. I have even ‘completely’ resected this tumor as evidenced by MRI scan, only to see it grow back, twice the size in less than 30 days! Recently, significant strides have been made in chemotherapy that has been hugely successful, even if on a relative scale. (See post of January 16th, 2010: Humility and a Malignant Brain Tumor). And one day I pray we find a cure, although I suspect we will always have death to face at some point.
It will be at that point that our true character will finally be revealed. Will we be afraid because we don’t know what the next world is all about or will we embrace it because we trust in Jesus’ promise of an everlasting life with Him.
A while back when my wife and I were in the process of adopting our daughter we met a couple like us, Mark and Karen, also looking forward to becoming united with their adopted daughter from China. He was an ophthalmologist. And it is quite interesting to me how many ophthalmologists I have met that are deeply committed Christians. Perhaps it has something to do with the realization that the ‘eyes’ truly ‘are the window to the soul’. Anyway, he told me of a story of a colleague, a friend of his that had a malignant brain tumor and he had exhausted all forms of treatment, and had death staring him squarely in the eyes. Mark asked him how he felt, was he afraid? And this other physician looked at him and said no. In fact he was excited! He was finally going to meet his creator and spend all eternity with him. “It’s going to be an awesome journey”.
Our life here on earth is far from inconsequential but it is in the way that we live that life that we will be judged by those we leave behind and by God in heaven.
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