I remember when my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, it was only about a two month period between the diagnosis and when he finally succumbed to the disease. He was an avid runner, he didn’t smoke and didn’t drink.
In 1996, at the age of 75, he did carry several shrapnel fragments from his combat injuries that nearly killed him during the liberation of the Philippines in World War II and worked decades around mildly toxic materials.
He, otherwise, appeared in great vital health and ever working on his dreams, his last was to publish The Airborne Quarterly Magazine, which I helped him with, and to write his memoir (For more about my father and his experiences in WWII, please go to this link: https://www.challenyee.com/2019/02/23/the-los-banos-raid-february-23-1945/).
Dad was able to rest at home during that time and I happened to have a couple friends at church who were into “faith healing” and, being willing to try anything to help my dad recover from what looked like a terminal disease, I was willing to invite 4 people over to spend an hour or longer over several evenings to “lay hands” and pray for healing.
Although the prognosis was never great, the VA still put him on chemo and pain meds and I would wonder if there could be some new drug that could be more effective. There was not one forthcoming.
When your dad is stricken by a disease you hope for all kinds of miracles to happen. You don’t want to see your loved on die, much less the one man who had the greatest influence on your life up to that point in life.
The “faith healers” would quietly sing hymns, pray fervently, lay their hands upon him in effort to bring healing. I never listened to too intently as my family, including my mom, gave them their space and privacy to do what they will. My father welcomed their visits and the time they spent with him.
One of the spoken prayers, caught my ear and has since stuck in my mind. My friend who prayed to God that He take his life in exchange for healing my father from cancer,
This was one of those supplications that caused me to wonder about my own love for my dad and the question lingered in my mind through the years.
The crux of my concern was, “Am I selfish for not being willing to give up my life so that my father would be healed and live?”
It was a bold supplication of self-sacrifice that a friend would be willing to give up his own life for my father. Privately, it bothered me that, even though my father lay dying from an aggressive cancer, it never occurred to me that I would pray to God to take my life so that my own father would live.
I didn’t really know what to think of it, but I did hope my father would live. Was that a Godly prayer? Was it a desire to see a sign from God? Was I being selfish? What was wrong with me for not wanting to sacrifice myself even unto death?
What I am able to share is after I finally surrendered myself to Jesus Christ as Lord, I began to be more at peace with the memory.
“In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33
…these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. -John 20:31
…so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. – Romans 5:21
What I finally realized what was the focus needs to be on Christ, especially as death is near.
While my friend was praying to be a sacrifice for my father, let it be known that:
Jesus already took my father’s sins upon Himself
Jesus could help my father live, Jesus did sacrifice Himself so that my father could live.
The last part of the equation, were I to add my prayers to my father suffering from cancer, should be to pray that my father repent from sins against God, that no work of his own could ever be acceptable to God for salvation and to entirely place his belief and trust in work of the risen and living Lord Jesus Christ to accept the glorious life in the Kingdom.
My simple recommendation to you, if you have a loved one who is terminally ill, understand how God offers us all a divine and undeserved gift of grace, a gift through the Savior who died taking the burden of our sins upon His sinless self. God provided The Way to be redeemed from our failures, our unholiness, and our unrighteousness. All is made new in the glorious resurrected life.
Our instinct is to live. We are made in the image of an eternal God and we sense the reality of eternity. We do love life as God’s creation in God’s creation, all for His glory.
Do consider the divine invitation to be released from the burden of sin that otherwise leads to eternal isolation from the further blessings of God in this life and the next.
We should make ourselves ready for our eventual exit from this life. One does not need to wait until they lay on their death bed from a terminal disease.
Many of us do not consider ourselves gamblers, but we gamble with the most precious thing that we have, our eternal soul. For many, young or old, the end of life comes swiftly or unexpectedly. Do not wait.
Repent and believe the Lord Jesus Christ – the glorious life beyond awaits those who are secure in Christ, all who are recipients of God’s mercy and grace.
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.
“Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” – Revelation 21:5-5
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Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The Lord God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.
– Habakkuk 3:17-19
For a detailed explanation of who Jesus Christ is from the Bible’s perspective go to the video in this website , “Who is Jesus Christ?”
CKY
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