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The Long Road Out of Unwell


The last couple days have been pretty tough. I’m not very good at being sick. Maybe I haven’t had enough practice at it. As I get older I’m sure that’ll change but today I thank the good Lord for breath in my lungs and the ability to retain fluids.

People often ask the question:  “Why so much sickness, death, and tragedy?”  I think this is a good question which we ought not dismiss because the answer points like a spotlight towards the cross. The purpose is, quite simply, to remind us how weak we really are. The gentle subtle reminders of our dependency upon the Lord who actively sustains the creation He has made are the ocean we swim in. The abundance is the very reason why we miss them. Even those of us with redeemed hearts and renewed minds, we miss them, because we are still learning to walk according to truth instead of what SEEMS to be true.

Here is the turning point after man has fallen: the moment God expels man from the Garden of Eden.

22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. (Genesis 3:22-23)

Looks like a curse doesn’t it? I once thought the same, and I suppose to some extent that may be true (certainly for some), but think about it for a moment. The bible says “the wages of sin is death”. This was a pre-existing fact due to the nature of God. He is just and His justice demands payment for transgression. Not because He is mean, because He is good.
Could it be that the expulsion of man from the garden, away from the tree of life, was an act of mercy?

“How can death possibly be mercy?” You might ask.
Good question but first let’s imagine this world, a fallen world, without death.

Pros:

1.    People don’t die
2.    No sickness

Cons: 

1.    People don’t die
2.    No justice
3.    No cross, no Jesus Christ, no redemption by the blood, and that means no John 3:16

Death serves an important function in a fallen world. It is the door by which people exit into final judgment but also is a final stop to the evil they can do here on earth. Without that they would just continue to do evil and if the last century is any indication mankind’s capacity for evil walks hand in hands with his ability to do evil… apart from God’s grace.

Would you want to live in a world plagued by Hitlers who can't die?

What on earth does this have to do with my stomach bug? Well, a lot, really. It’s a reminder that I’m too strong in my flesh. It’s a reminder that “the less I am the more He is” (M.P.) and we need that. I need that desperately, because without a reminder of my fragility I am inclined to make much of myself. 

I like simple prayers. The simplest, and I think most effective for spiritual growth, is this “Father, please make me love you more”. That’s the root, isn’t it? My proclivity to chase things which only bring pain or rebellion are symptoms of a much deeper issue. I love Christ more than I ever thought possible, more than I love my wife and son (whom I love more than anything on this earth) but my paltry love is such a meager thing. 

What I need is to be reminded that the only thing stopping me from falling into the pit of hell where I so certainly belong is the crimson, unbreakable, unwavering thread of woven from the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in whom I trust.


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