Who can know them? Once in awhile we are given notice of impending actions, but most of the time we are called by faith to believe in what we cannot see, to trust not in ourselves, and to walk in the Spirit. It's a tough go. But it's the best "go".
Lee Hough wrote the following entry to his CaringBridge page. It makes me sad because it seems his battle with brain cancer is coming to an end. He will be the victor, but it's not easy to view it that way from down here. God's not limited by time or disease. That's all there is to say. Please pray for him and his family.
"As many of you already know, I received a clear MRI on my brain back in February of this year. But then I began to have regular headaches again (one of the symptoms that first indicated something was wrong two years ago). So, in June a different type of MRI test revealed the cancer had spread all throughout the right side of my brain and into the brain’s corpus callosum, which is the connecting area between the two hemispheres. With that discovery, the oncologist predicted I had about two months to live. That was seven weeks ago. I have since retired from my work as a literary agent with Alive Communications. In light of my circumstances, my car mechanic and good friend, Hugh, recently asked, “How do you know Christianity is the only way? The one true religion out of all the others?” By the tone of his voice, I could tell this wasn’t simply an academic question for him. He really wanted to know. And your answer? Christian theologians and philosophers have studied the world religions and have written brilliant, comprehensive responses to Hugh’s question over the centuries – but unfortunately none of that was on the tip of my tongue that morning as the two of us stood there in the middle of his car junkyard. Even if I had had some impressive argument to wow Hugh with, something about serving up an argument to his question felt wrong to me. I think he was looking to hear something spoken out of conviction by me rather than cleverness. Truth be told, looking back I wish that I would have just simply said, “How do I know Christianity is the one true faith? Because Jesus Christ was crucified, died, and on the third day was raised from the dead.” And where does this answer come from? From whom? An eyewitness. The Apostle Paul laid down this cornerstone confession for the early church after he himself saw Jesus alive: "Now, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you . . . by this gospel you are saved (1 Corinthians 15:1-18): For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, and then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, . . . then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all He appeared to me also." So, tomorrow, Friday, I’m headed back out to Hugh’s junk yard to say those words that have been the bedrock of our belief for 2,000 years. I’d like to close this Caring Bridge with these beautiful contrasts from Paul: * That we are sown a perishable body, but raised imperishable. (1 Cor.15:42) * Sown in dishonor, raised in glory (43) * Sown in weakness, raised in power (43) * Sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body (44) My friends, we’ve prayed for healing and whether that may still yet happen in this temporal world or not, I believe I’m about to receive that permanently. Thank you all for showing Paula and I Jesus in the way that you have prayed, loved, and supported us through this journey. Sown in weakness, raised in power. Lee"
God, you know Lee. You know the pain and trials. You know the outcome. I always ask for a miracle because you are able to do those things we can't explain. However, like the Hough family, I accept your results, knowing those left here will suffer sorrow. Please, if you choose not to heal Lee here, give his family all they need to go through this utter sadness. Please. Thank you for Lee, a true gentleman, a good man, a Christian to the end and beyond. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.