July 2008

For the past three weeks, different brothers and sisters from my church have been taking turns to drive my father to his radiation therapy for his cancer treatment. When a godly sister from church told me that her fellowship had arranged drivers for my father’s six-week treatment, I hesitated to accept the help because I did not want to bother others for something I could do myself. However, knowing the transportation assistance was an expression of love from this fellowship, I accepted the offer gratefully. I was not, however, prepared for what happened next.

As background, my father accepted Christ just two weeks prior to his surgery and had been undergoing treatment since then. As a result, he did not have too many opportunities to fellowship with the brothers and sisters from church. Nevertheless, God knew exactly what my father’s needs were and brought these wonderful brothers and sisters to him instead. Each day, my father not only got to meet a new friend, but was also able to receive God’s love and wisdom through these caring people.

Although my father accepted Jesus as his personal savior, he still had many unresolved questions regarding God, such as “Why does God choose to save one patient and not the other?”, “Why does God allow so much suffering in this world?”, “What kind of relationships will there be if there is no marriage in heaven?”, and “Is everything God’s will?”. In asking these questions, my father was not questioning his faith or the sovereignty of God, but rather, probing the truth and wanting to understand his Shepherd’s character. “How can I share the gospel with my friends if I cannot even answer these questions?” my father asked in exasperation.

In addition to my long discussions with him around these issues, my father posed the same questions to these brothers and sisters. Each day, the hour my father spent with these brothers and sisters was like an hour of private Sunday school. Whether it was through sharing of personal testimonies, biblical explanation, lending DVD sermons or just sacrificing time to drive, these brothers and sisters had somehow untangled many of the knots in my father’s head.

Today, my father still has many questions, but they are of a different type. “Who is Noah?” “What happened to all the water during the flood?” “What is a missionary?” I praise the Lord for continuing to supply my father with wise and loving counsels so my father can continue to grow in Him. With his newfound knowledge, my father has begun to share the gospel with his co-workers. Although it is heartbreaking to see my father lose his appetite and strength, witnessing how my father’s faith has flourished during these past weeks made me realize how the throbbing radiation therapy is really God’s blessing in disguise.

My father is not the only one being blessed. Those who have given him rides have been encouraged by my father’s testimony and by seeing how God is transforming him. I too grew from this experience when I learned a valuable lesson on receiving love. While it is important for me to love others, it is equally important to accept love because it opens up doors for me to experience God’s abundant grace. It is a scary thought to think that my insistence on self-reliance might have blocked God’s intended work on my father. It is remarkable how many people this episode has touched.