The Encourager – April 7, 2022 – A Fatal Genetic Disease and Its Cure

So much has happened in the last few months, I haven’t had time to sit down and write. Let me share one recent event: the death of Calvin, a sweet little baby who was born with a fatal genetic disease. This was a time of joy and heartbreak for those of us close to the family. Calvin’s parents, Stuart and Jen, were models of Christian faith as they cared for their child, knowing that his time on earth would be brief. Although there were many tears, there was also real joy in being given the opportunity to care for this child. Jen wrote beautiful statements of faith on Caring Bridge, bringing in scriptures which encouraged us all. These parents also taught their older children to cherish their little brother as he lay on the living room sofa with tubes attached, unable to lift his head on his own. It was touching to see the siblings greet Calvin and give him a kiss or a hug as they returned from school each day. Never has a child been more well loved than baby Calvin.

As we approach Easter, Calvin is very much on my mind. Why? The Bible says that ALL of us were born with a fatal genetic disease! God created us to be “very good,” but He also gave us free will, the power to choose obedience or disobedience. Adam and Eve, although given a rich life of perfect fellowship with their Creator in a beautiful garden setting, were tempted by the devil. They wanted to be in control of their own destiny, to be like God. They chose to believe the lie of self-sufficiency rather than the truth of God’s perfectly wise loving care for them; so they fell into sin. And because of their fall, we are also born into sin. It’s genetic, still being passed down through every generation to you and me and all who follow.

It’s natural to wonder, if God is all powerful and all good, why did He let this death happen? He could have cured Calvin in a moment! But we fell. We are all sinners in a fallen world, deserving of death. We can’t look into the inscrutable mind of God, but He does show us His heart. God loves us so much that He sent His own precious Son to be the cure for sin, our fatal genetic disease. Jesus, “gentle and lowly of heart,” left His exalted world to enter our debased one, enduring all the suffering and sorrow that we do, but magnified many times over. While He hung there, I’m sure some people taunted, “If you’re really God, come down from the cross” but He chose to stay. Jesus knew that His obedience would bring Him a far greater reward than escaping the suffering ordained by the Father. Jesus became our Servant that He might become an even greater Shepherd.

In the same way, we must choose to obey God through our own pain, always believing that God has a good purpose in mind and a glorious reward for us later. We may not see the purpose of each hardship as it happens, but I think all questions will eventually be answered. Meanwhile, if nothing else, let our joyful obedience to Christ be an encouragement to other believers and a witness to unbelievers as we humbly take up our cross. As I have seen in my own life, every loss is preparation for ministry. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.” - 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 We do not seek suffering, but when it comes, we let God use it.

Our time on earth is short. Whether we die as infants or live for many years, death catches up with everyone. The greatest athletes can still get cancer or die in a car accident or just get old. EVERY death is a tragedy. We rage against it because we were not made to die! Baby Calvin looked just like his dad, and we bear the image of our heavenly Father. We were made for a rich life of full fellowship with God (and with other people) for eternity! Death is hard, but there is always hope.

Stuart and Jen showed us that every life is precious. Every life has infinite eternal value. The way they loved their son, carefully considering medical advice, praying, then providing the best possible care, gives us a small glimpse of the way God loves us. His love is compassionate, generous, all-encompassing, faithful, and forever. To access this love, we need only admit our need. We come as a little baby lying on the sofa, unable to lift our head, totally dependent upon the Perfect Parent. The tubes feeding us are conduits of the Holy Spirit. The cross of Jesus is the only cure for our fatal genetic disease. To enter His kingdom, come as a child. How blessed Calvin is now, basking in the loving care of God without having to endure any more suffering for all of eternity. “Let the little children come to Me,” Jesus told the disciples. How blessed we will be one day, in the land of No More Tears.

True faith is obedience with joy, out of thankfulness to our Loving Father. This Lenten season provides a golden opportunity to reflect upon the cross of Christ. Are we willing to accept everything from the Father’s hand, as Christ did by faith?

“Oh that rugged cross, my salvation, where Your love poured out over me!
Now my soul cries out, Hallelujah! Praise and honour unto Thee.”

Have a Blessed Easter Season,
j

The lyrics quoted are the chorus of “Man of Sorrows” by Hillsong.