The Promise

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righeouusness, which the Lord the righteous judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."

The above are some of the last words of the Apostle Paul as he awaited his execution at the hands of Rome. Paul was confident he would see his Lord and Savior, and if there was any fear or apprehension in his mind, it never showed in any of his writing...least of all this portion.

Mariann also fought the good fight. She kept the faith. And today she finished her race. A part of our life group and member of our church family, Mariann battled liver cancer and its associated physical ailments for several years. She was working on getting on the transplant list and being healthy enough to survive the surgery when an infection took hold of her body and rapidly spread. There was nothing that could be done.

Mariann was also confident. In recent conversations with her, she was saying that she wanted to heal...wanted to qualify for a transplant...wanted to live. But, she said, she was also good with the alternative if she did not make the list or have the surgery. There were days she felt better; there were days she felt worse. There were days when she brightened up the room; there were days when her disposition was in need of some outside encouragement. But through it all, she held on to the Promise...and I'm not talking about words, but rather The Word.

I'm reminded of a gospel song, “The Promise.” It tells the story of the daughter of Jairus who had died (Matthew 9). The father of the girl came to Jesus and asked him to come to the house and heal his daughter, knowing only that she was very ill.

When Jesus arrived with the father, the crowd there told them that he shouldn't bother Jesus because the daughter had died. Jesus told the crowd that she was only asleep, and they laughed at him. Putting the crowd out, Jesus went into the daughter and raised her, healing her.

The chorus of the song, “The Promise,” goes like this:

There's a Promise coming down that dusty road
From His holy hand healing virtue flows
He's got the keys to what you need
Death and hell He will defeat
There's a Promise coming down that dusty road

Mariann didn't experience the healing of Jesus in this life. However, by clinging to “The Promise,” she now has experienced total and complete healing. And she will continue to be an example to the rest of us who knew her and went with her through the ordeal of liver failure.

May God continue to heal, bless, and comfort Steve and the family.

Why Do We Even Try?

Kendra Broekhuis, a friend of mine, is an author and speaker.  She and her family moved to the inner city some years ago to learn to practice, “Love your neighbor.”  They have three living children (and one miscarriage child).  Awhile back, Kendra wrote the following.  Although what she wrote is specifically for parents of small children, the message is good for us all.

Sometimes I wonder why we even try.

Why do we go through the fuss of getting here with three small children?  Why do we come to sit down, just to have to get up and walk out when the baby starts screaming through the middle of prayer?  Why do we mess with the Kid Shuffles and the Mom Shushing? WHY DO I RUIN MY KID'S NAP FOR THIS?

But there's three things I want my children to know about Church:

1.      Christianity is not just about a personal relationship where you hide in your room and keep your life between you and Jesus.  There's an entire Body involved, which makes that whole "Jesus but not Church" thing a decapitated version of this faith.

2.      Church is community when the world feels friendless.  It's family when your own blood breaks down or is too far away to touch.  It's the place - no matter how much our own nation gets it wrong - for Jesus People of every tribe, tongue, and nation to belong.

3.      In a healthy church, the sick are the most welcome - the ones who know they need the Doctor.  The ones who desire to bring their sin to light and who want to rest in Grace.  And that's not a coming of age thing, but a heart thing.

And so even though I can't force the Spirit into my children's lives, I also don't expect them to suddenly "get it" on their own someday if Church isn't made a priority now.  So we talk the Bible at home.  But we also see that these kids - they're picking up on what we're doing here each Sunday.  Word by word.  Song by song.

I want my kids to not only hear but to see how much we needed the Church all along - even during seasons when all Mommy and Daddy heard were broken up pieces of a half hour sermon.

Kendra’s book, “Here Goes Nothing: An Introvert's Reckless Attempt to Love Her Neighbor” is available on Amazon and at bookstores.