Finding the Cure for a Fallen World
Disease is not a natural part of the human condition. It was not part of the original intention. Life to the fullest with abundant health was the original plan. What sense would it make to be any other way? Disease is a disruption to the primary goal of human existence, which is to glorify the Creator and enjoy all that He is and does. Apart from this ultimate intention, life at its best can feel meaningless and unfulfilled.
Disease can be a distraction, because it draws us away from our ultimate purpose, which is again, glorifying the Creator and enjoying all that He is and does. If this is not the understanding you have of the ultimate intention for life, then I suggest you take time from your busy schedule to look deeper. Why? Because it’s time to discover what you’ve been missing. Would you like to know the answers to some of those nagging questions in the depth of your soul and mind? Are you ready to know who you are? Wouldn’t you like to finally understand why you are here, at this particular time in your existence? What if you could know where you really came from and where you are ultimately going? Would that bring you to join the effort to uncover your greatest hunger to understand who you really are and what your life means?
These questions are not as difficult to answer as you might think. All the information is available to us. But first we need to find the cure for the disease, so regardless of its label or diagnosis, has only one goal and intention of its own. That being to prevent us from ever reaching our intended purpose of glorifying the Creator and enjoying all that He is and does for us.
Are you afraid of death? If so, then you share a very common fear with millions of other people like yourself. Death leaves much to our imagination and none of it feels very good. The fear of death hides behind the fear of the unknown. Regardless of how inquisitive we may be about the subject; the world lacks a lot of reliable voices considered to be experts on the subject, because of death. Simply stated, all the experts on the subject are dead. Death lies behind a boundary that can only be crossed through death. And although some claim to have gotten a rare glimpse behind the curtain, we still deal with the uncertainty of what’s on the other side.
I once had a dear friend that was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of throat cancer. Cancer is a disease that is certainly not normal to the human condition. In fact, cancer in any form is extremely destructive to those who contract the disease. Additionally, it is emotionally debilitating to the family members walking with these sufferers. All of us want nothing more than to see this abomination eradicated from the world in which we live.
After three years of extensive and radical treatment, which was considered to have started much too late, my friend was finally at the end of his unsuccessful battle to beat this disease. At the young age of fifty-four, he had put his affairs in order and was waiting for the untimely arrival of his end-of-days. During my last visit with him, only a few weeks before he passed from this realm into the next, we had a very intriguing conversation.
“Wayne, you know I have to ask; are you ready for this part of your journey to end?” He was used to my open, honest, and to the point questions. He loved to argue about everything, and I was a worthy debate partner. But today he was tired.
“Randall, I have made peace with God. I have put all my affairs in order. And I believe I have made things right with my family, friends and enemies. I am leaving things here in the best shape I can. And I also believe with all my heart I’ll be okay over there, with whatever “there” is. But I must admit, the trip from here to there has me a little worried.”
What a statement! Who wouldn’t be a little worried? When we came into this world, we were unaware that we were coming on board. But the older we got the more we realized our lives have an expiration date. A date we don’t normally get to know. But hopefully a moment we can prepare for.
I put my hand on his shoulder in the most reassuring way I could and said, “Wayne, the scriptures teach us that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And it also teaches us that in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we shall be changed. Your trip from here to there is going to be like a blink. You will simply close your eyes here, and you will open them there; and it will be a new place and a new day. And cancer will not be a part of your new life.”
We said a prayer together and I went my way. By the time I got back in town it was too late to see him again because he had completed his journey. At the funeral I rejoiced because I knew he had made it from here to there and was no longer in pain. But my heart still ached because I knew there were many in attendance that day who weren’t prepared to finish their journey.
So, how can I know that the Creator of the universe wants me to glorify him and enjoy all that He is and does? Isn’t God some big bully in the sky that wants to judge and destroy me for everything I’ve ever done wrong? Isn’t God angry at the wicked every day? If God is truly a God of love, then why doesn’t he do something about all the terrible things happening in the world? How am I supposed to trust a God like that? If God is real, why doesn’t he prove it to us?
Well for one, He is a God of love and because He is God, He is not obligated to prove anything to us. The choice is not His to make, it is ours. Eternity without Him will be a problem for us, not Him. Failing to glorify Him will be our loss. The scriptures teach there is pleasure at His right hand for evermore. But how do we get to the place at His right hand? Remember, the choice is indeed ours to make. However, the way is His to provide, and He made that way very clear by letting us know there is only one way to the Father and that is through His Son, Jesus.
So how do I find my cure in my fallen world? I find it in Jesus. I find it in His love and forgiveness. I find it in His death and resurrection. I find the answers in trusting Him with my life’s journey. I find it in Him in the pain and the healing. I find it with Him in sorry and joy. I discover who I am as I uncover the multitude of ways, He reveals Himself to me. When I use the choice I have been given, to choose Him, my trip from here to there becomes one I can embrace, not fear.
Dr. Randall Mooney
Disease can be a distraction, because it draws us away from our ultimate purpose, which is again, glorifying the Creator and enjoying all that He is and does. If this is not the understanding you have of the ultimate intention for life, then I suggest you take time from your busy schedule to look deeper. Why? Because it’s time to discover what you’ve been missing. Would you like to know the answers to some of those nagging questions in the depth of your soul and mind? Are you ready to know who you are? Wouldn’t you like to finally understand why you are here, at this particular time in your existence? What if you could know where you really came from and where you are ultimately going? Would that bring you to join the effort to uncover your greatest hunger to understand who you really are and what your life means?
These questions are not as difficult to answer as you might think. All the information is available to us. But first we need to find the cure for the disease, so regardless of its label or diagnosis, has only one goal and intention of its own. That being to prevent us from ever reaching our intended purpose of glorifying the Creator and enjoying all that He is and does for us.
Are you afraid of death? If so, then you share a very common fear with millions of other people like yourself. Death leaves much to our imagination and none of it feels very good. The fear of death hides behind the fear of the unknown. Regardless of how inquisitive we may be about the subject; the world lacks a lot of reliable voices considered to be experts on the subject, because of death. Simply stated, all the experts on the subject are dead. Death lies behind a boundary that can only be crossed through death. And although some claim to have gotten a rare glimpse behind the curtain, we still deal with the uncertainty of what’s on the other side.
I once had a dear friend that was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of throat cancer. Cancer is a disease that is certainly not normal to the human condition. In fact, cancer in any form is extremely destructive to those who contract the disease. Additionally, it is emotionally debilitating to the family members walking with these sufferers. All of us want nothing more than to see this abomination eradicated from the world in which we live.
After three years of extensive and radical treatment, which was considered to have started much too late, my friend was finally at the end of his unsuccessful battle to beat this disease. At the young age of fifty-four, he had put his affairs in order and was waiting for the untimely arrival of his end-of-days. During my last visit with him, only a few weeks before he passed from this realm into the next, we had a very intriguing conversation.
“Wayne, you know I have to ask; are you ready for this part of your journey to end?” He was used to my open, honest, and to the point questions. He loved to argue about everything, and I was a worthy debate partner. But today he was tired.
“Randall, I have made peace with God. I have put all my affairs in order. And I believe I have made things right with my family, friends and enemies. I am leaving things here in the best shape I can. And I also believe with all my heart I’ll be okay over there, with whatever “there” is. But I must admit, the trip from here to there has me a little worried.”
What a statement! Who wouldn’t be a little worried? When we came into this world, we were unaware that we were coming on board. But the older we got the more we realized our lives have an expiration date. A date we don’t normally get to know. But hopefully a moment we can prepare for.
I put my hand on his shoulder in the most reassuring way I could and said, “Wayne, the scriptures teach us that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And it also teaches us that in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we shall be changed. Your trip from here to there is going to be like a blink. You will simply close your eyes here, and you will open them there; and it will be a new place and a new day. And cancer will not be a part of your new life.”
We said a prayer together and I went my way. By the time I got back in town it was too late to see him again because he had completed his journey. At the funeral I rejoiced because I knew he had made it from here to there and was no longer in pain. But my heart still ached because I knew there were many in attendance that day who weren’t prepared to finish their journey.
So, how can I know that the Creator of the universe wants me to glorify him and enjoy all that He is and does? Isn’t God some big bully in the sky that wants to judge and destroy me for everything I’ve ever done wrong? Isn’t God angry at the wicked every day? If God is truly a God of love, then why doesn’t he do something about all the terrible things happening in the world? How am I supposed to trust a God like that? If God is real, why doesn’t he prove it to us?
Well for one, He is a God of love and because He is God, He is not obligated to prove anything to us. The choice is not His to make, it is ours. Eternity without Him will be a problem for us, not Him. Failing to glorify Him will be our loss. The scriptures teach there is pleasure at His right hand for evermore. But how do we get to the place at His right hand? Remember, the choice is indeed ours to make. However, the way is His to provide, and He made that way very clear by letting us know there is only one way to the Father and that is through His Son, Jesus.
So how do I find my cure in my fallen world? I find it in Jesus. I find it in His love and forgiveness. I find it in His death and resurrection. I find the answers in trusting Him with my life’s journey. I find it in Him in the pain and the healing. I find it with Him in sorry and joy. I discover who I am as I uncover the multitude of ways, He reveals Himself to me. When I use the choice I have been given, to choose Him, my trip from here to there becomes one I can embrace, not fear.
Dr. Randall Mooney
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