A Mother Asks…

Receiving this anonymous author email, it is an ‘interlude’.

It is very simple…

“A mother asked President GW Bush, "Why did my son have to die in Iraq?"

A mother asked President Clinton, "Why did my son have to die in Saudi Arabia?"

A mother asked President GHW Bush, "Why did my son have to die in Kuwait?"

Another mother asked President Johnson, "Why did my son have to die in Vietnam?"

Another mother asked President Truman, "Why did my son have to die in Korea?"

Another mother asked President FD Roosevelt, "Why did my son have to die on Iwo Jima?"

Another mother asked President W. Wilson, "Why did my son have to die on a battlefield in France?"

Yet another mother asked President Lincoln, "Why did my son have to die at Gettysburg?"

And yet another mother asked President Washington, "Why did my son have to die on a frozen field near Valley Forge?"

Then long, long ago, a mother asked..."Heavenly Father, why did my Son have to die on a cross outside of Jerusalem?"

The answer is the same --"So that others may have life, peace, happiness, and freedom."”

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Here is the difference:

The offer from 2000 years ago is still available today...

Life: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

That is the offer of the cross - everlasting life.

Peace: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

“Peace of God”, it says is beyond understanding - but it is capable of GUARDING our hearts and minds.

Happiness: Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:11

Jesus offered us HIS joy.

Freedom: “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” Romans 6:16-18

It says we are free from sin that leads to death - both its power and its penalty.

Conversations with Fred -cont.

Part 2

Fred’s faith leads to his recent remark, “Everything that has happened to me has been for the good.”

One could easily ask, “How can terminal cancer be for the good?” Let us start by recognizing that the cancer itself is not ‘good’. However, Fred is all about furthering Christ’s kingdom. He explains the good that comes from his affliction (cancer) means there are more people in the Kingdom of Heaven. [See “What Good?” and see Romans 8:28-29]

The driving force in Fred is the question, “How can my life and my death influence others for Christ?” That is faith’s conduct in Fred’s life. He lives Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” Fred shares the gospel of Jesus Christ with everybody - he challenges everyone that believes to share the gospel with others. He understands the ETERNAL importance of being about ‘His Father’s Business’.

Last year in “Running Out of Time” we talked about the family reunion where Fred challenged each of us to ‘influence someone for Christ’ in the coming year. He regularly checked up on us during the year, asking for ‘progress reports’. At Christmas this year, he called each of us to account, in front of the rest of the family. He did not do that to embarrass anyone, but to encourage all of us.

The reality is, Fred embarrasses all of us. He really is not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. Fred lives in a world where sharing the gospel is one of the single most important things one can do. A week does not pass that Fred does not share the gospel with someone. (I would say a day does not go by, but there are some days when his illness keeps him house-bound - even so, there is not a ‘Hospice’ worker that has met him that has not heard.)

His conduct is evidence of his commitment to his conviction that ‘The Good’ of reaching others for Christ is his duty, and privilege.

Fred has stated (and it is in other articles), that his life, his cancer and his death have been worth it if just one person comes to know Jesus Christ. Fred is not boastful, but I know of a few people that have made Fred’s cancer ‘worth it’ because they believe. Mom, being more pragmatic, will only say, “More than a few.” When I ask Fred if it is worth it, with a shy smile and a glint in his eye, he says, “Yes.”

Fred continued with, “The coming days are filled with hope.”