A friend of mine, whose cancer was in remission just heard that it (the cancer) is back. That brings to mind all the things we are taught about death and dying and heaven and hell.
It also brings up a host of questions that seem to become more and more prevalent as I become older myself and I see death’s sweeping hand taking people closer and closer to me; Is heaven really a place I will go when I die? Will I go there if I said the Baptist sinner’s prayer and not the Presbyterian’s or vice a versa?
Assuming that I got it right on the sinner’s prayer and that heaven is an actual place where I will see my deceased loved ones and enjoy no judgment, no right and wrong and . . . get to actually be with Jesus . . . why would I want to put myself through hell on earth to stay here and not go on to utopia? That mindset just doesn’t seem to make sense . . . do we truly believe what we hear about utopia . . . heaven?!
Could it be that when we have terminal ailments . . . me with my blocked arteries . . . my friend with cancer . . . that that is the time that God intends for us to come home to Him?
Could it be that by exercising our free will and seeking out medical care we extend our time here on earth . . . beyond what may have been God’s plan?
Or, did God put the medical care here for us in order that we could extend our lives . . . so that we could continue to positively impact others’ lives for longer than we would have?
We westerners have been trained and taught that that is just what we do. We get sick, we do everything in our power to get well. This mindset goes from the smallest sniffle to the blocked artery or bone cancer.
Or is our advanced medical care technology and system just something God allowed us to figure out in order to offset the processed and otherwise unhealthy foods that we have come up with to cause many of these terminal ailments?!?!
I can’t tell you that I have answers to all these questions that I pose this morning. All I can tell you is that God knows everything, including, what is best for us! We just have to talk to Him but more than that, we need to listen to Him for His direction and guidance in our lives. That is an easy statement to make . . . just listen to God and do what He says . . . I am the living proof that that is a life long and super challenging task . . . I make progress . . . I lose ground . . . I make progress . . . I lose ground. Hopefully, overall, I make progress in God’s eyes.
I think it boils down to a couple of central messages, one of which is: “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:5-7 (NIV). We have to first seek our creator before we can hear from Him the direction for our next step.
Thank you for reading and for your support,
Blessings,
Our Walk of Faith 