The Presence of Death and Life in Mortal Sickness.

 I am beginning to realize that even in sickness there is a certain presence of death which permeates the air of the room that sickness is in, even if the person infected is not necessarily going to die as a result of the sickness. After all any sickness is really just a symptom of the curse, an abnormality of creation, the result of a degenerating and broken world.  And although the Creator has sent his son into the world to redeem it, it is none the less still destined to be destroyed as a result of the curse. In fact it is in that very promise that we place our hope in as believers.  We are waiting for the restoration of all things. And in order for that restoration to be completed death must first fulfill its purpose and put an end to everything that is in subjection to it, including our fallen mortal bodies. As I sit here on the couch beside my wife on the eve of her first chemo treatment, I am overwhelmed by that reality.

I am overwhelmed by the simple reality that even though suffering is difficult and sickness painful, if we are a believer in Christ then it is none the less working toward our blessing. That is because it is also working to destroy that which has already been destined for destruction anyways so that we can experience everlasting life free from that very sickness and death which all of our life has haunted us. In other words far from being the source of our fear, death has become the instrument of our hope. For, when Christ by the power of the Spirit, had overcame the grave He was granted the power to release as many as He wills from its grasp as well. So that death is now turned in on itself. Far from ending us it is now the instrument of our salvation.

This was the conviction of Paul the Apostle and it undeniably permeates his writing. He understood as I am only now beginning to understand, in my spiritual adolescence as a believer, that death far from being the end of life is actually the inauguration of it, in Christ. So death is not really just death for the believer but the death of death. And that death of death is really life everlasting for the person who believes in Christ and has been set free from the power of sin and death through His sacrifice. So sickness far from being the despairing reality that my flesh would have me to believe that it is is really just a road marker on the long narrow difficult path to my hard won future life.

Now that in no way takes away the pain of the actual experience. And it in no way takes away from the awful reality that I must shortly watch my precious wife suffer through her first two weeks of chemo therapy. It doesn't make it any easier to shoulder the burden of caring for our family.  And it certainly doesn't make the loneliness of our journey any less so. But it does give my wife and I a certifiable hope that we can hold on to, a secure and lasting anchor that we can rest in together. And I am thankful for that.

I am thankful that in addition to forgiving my sins, giving me a wife and a family to love and be loved by, that the God of all creation has also provided me a sure and lasting future hope to hold on to in the here and the now. I am thankful that in addition to that hope He has also surrounded me with other saints who are holding on to the same unchangeable hope who are willing to remind my wife and I of that hope as often as we have need. I am thankful that in spite of my selfishness and sinfulness (also the product of death…another topic for another time…) or my wife’s (she’s still a sinner saved by grace) God is none the less still working out these terribly difficult circumstances for not only our own individual good but also the corporate good of His entire body.  

These are my thoughts the night before treatment number one. If you think of my wife and I please continue to keep us in your prayers. For while we both know the truths I have written about here and hold on to them like a child to their father’s leg, we are still only human and easily subject to the turbulence of our own every changing emotions not to mention the physical realities of my wife’s sickness. May the Lord keep you and ground your hearts and minds in the future Hope that Christ has affected on our behalf, his faithful patient pilgrims.