As I prepared to preach on this passage of scripture last Sunday, I began thinking about Bill. Bill started coming to church shortly after I started my second stint at Chapel Hill United Methodist Church, the church I now serve. I knew his name and knew he was on the rolls, but had never met him until he showed up one Sunday. He was a friendly man, very pleasurable to visit with, and seemed to have a good faith. He owned a car dealership right across from the Boys & Girls Club I worked at, so one morning I walked over to visit and have a cup of coffee. Bill informed me that he had stopped going to church because he and a former minister did not get along. But he was back, now, not because there was a new minister, but because he decided that he needed his church home more then he needed to be in a disagreement with the minister. Part of me, honestly, was nervous about someone who had left the church over a conflict with a minister, though Bill came across as very sincere and genuine, and his like-ability far outweighed my concerns.
Within the past year, I believe, Bill has been diagnosed with cancer of the lungs and throat. I've visited with him at church and after church several times since his diagnosis, and have always been amazed at how positive he is about life. After a few visits, I asked him what his prognosis was, and Bill told me that his doctor told him he could have as much as 2 years to live. He did not cry, shake or show much emotion about the news, though it was obvious that he was aware of what he was saying. He immediately started talking about what had been good in his life. He talked about his children and his grandchildren. He spoke of friends, including one he had invited to the church and who had become quite active. He would speak of his illness when I asked him questions about it, but his illness was not what was most important in his life. And in all the conversations, Bill would talk about God and the church.
I look forward to my visits with Bill. With each time I see him, he helps me to grow in my faith. He is more of a spiritual leader for his minister then his minister is for him, and for that I give thanks to God.
In 22 years of ministry, I've been around many people who have received news that they were dying. I say dying instead of terminally ill, because as Christian people, I feel we need to claim death--that is the only way we can enter into the next life. In that time, I've noticed that there are 3 typical responses to news that one is dying. The first is to give up. This is typically the response from people who are at best weak in their faith, and at worst have no faith at all. Their feeling seems to be that God has inflicted them and is punishing them, and they chose to simply quit living. Their deaths are often quick, and also often painful, both physically and spiritually.
The second response tends to be from those who know about faith, even pronounce their faith, but really do not know how to live their faith. The response of this group tends to be a belief that they can beat the illness and cheat death. They live like they are not sick, and often their positive attitude even extends their lives beyond that doctors' prognosis. However, in the vast majority of cases they still succumb to death in the end, and even question why God did not take their suffering away. Their deaths can cause them to be spiritually alone and isolated, wondering why God did not save them from death.
Then there are people like Bill, who know that death is a part of life, and that it is a necessary part if we want to participate in the resurrection and entrance into God's kingdom. He does not ignore his death, nor does he linger on it. Instead, he remembers the life he has lived, continues to live life to the fullest he is able, and he inspires others to grow in their faith.
When the people of Judah were taken into exile, God spoke through the prophet Isaiah, telling the people they would be captives for a long time. In fact, they would be in exile for at least 2 generations, according to God. In other words, many would not live to see a return to Judah. But Got spoke in a positive way, not focusing on how they would die in Babylon, but instead focusing on how they should live in this foreign land. He talked about them growing gardens and eating their produce. He spoke of finding wives and husbands. He challenged them to have children and grandchildren. And God told them to seek the welfare of these foreigners, and to pray for them to God, that in their welfare would be Judah's welfare.
So live your lives, even when you have cause to suffer. Follow Bill's example. Know that yes, the suffering will pass, but how you live determines whether this suffering makes you spiritually live or die. Be people of faith, not just saying you have it, but living it. And in all things, seek the joy of God. After all, when death finally does set in, it leads us to new and everlasting life through Jesus Christ. Live your faith, and show others how we can overcome suffering by seeing the good, that is, the presence of God all around us.
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