Don't Waste Your Cancer part 2

Take a quick look at my last posting.  Don't Waste Your Cancer precepts by John Piper are listed.  These are not trite truisms.  They are observations forged in the furnace of human tribulation and tempered with the heat of cancer.  Piper wrote these precepts on the eve of his cancer surgery after wrestling for months with the spiritual aspects of his disease.


These precepts do not massage our weary souls.  In fact, they grate against us, rubbing us raw.  However, I recognize them as polishing abrasives, rubbing and grinding away the tarnish of wrong attitudes and incorrect ideas.


Of all the precepts, I had the most trouble with #2 and #3.


#2 says,  "We waste our cancer if we do not believe it is designed for us by God."
This sounds like God picked me out of the crowd and gave me cancer.  Why would he do that to me?  Isn't it better to say that God uses cancer to accomplish His will?  But to assert God designed it...  come on, REALLY!


This precepts hurts.  My understanding of God's love would not allow this to happen.  God loves me, therefore, He would never design a cancer for me.


MY CONTEXT IS ALL WRONG!  I am judging God based on the existence I know best, my temporal existence.  Within this context, all that God does must be within the time of my life on earth.  Any action that would shorten my life or make my visitation on earth less pleasurable has to be wrong.


When I look at life's experiences as part of an eternity of living I gain a more worthy vantage.


I am an eternal creature.  My faith has given me eternal living.  All that happens to me has been totally considered by God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  After perfect consideration, the Godhead has determined that I should go through esophageal cancer at this time.  (This is Piper's conclusion and he expounds it better than me in his tract, Don't Waster Your Cancer.  A link to this tract is in my previous post.)


I see only 3 possible responses to this.  1-  I can rebel against the decision.  2-  I can ignore the decision.  3-  I can accept the decision as coming from an all-wise God who knows what is best for me.


I do not understand the WHYS and WHEREFORES of my cancer.  It is not necessary for me to know.  When I decided how I should respond I considered two very important questions.
Does God know more than me?
Can I trust God?


The questions are simple.  The answers were easy, but the appropriation of the answers into my life's story was very difficult.  It was not a quick and easy decision.  You would think I would decide quickly and move on.  I quickly admitted God knows more than me.  I also quickly confessed that I could implicitly trust God.  What took time was TOTAL acceptance.  


My initial response was intellectual and quick.  Accepting Precept 2 on spiritual and psychological levels took more time.  


Allowing God's love and goodness to seep down and cover my cancer meant I had to open myself to His love and submit to Him more deeply than was my habit.  This is an interesting observation in that this cancer is bringing me to receive more of God's love and to submit more deeply to His will.  


Now, I have finally accepted God's decision.


#3 says,  "We waste our cancer if we believe it is a curse and not a gift."
Accepting #3 was a bit easier than was #2.  Curses do not bring an outpouring of love and affection.  Curses do not bring you closer to God.  Curses do not bring Godly energy to people and groups.  Because of my cancer I have experienced these.  My conclusion was, "How could this be a curse when all this good is being released because of it?"


When I came to grips with Precept #2 the rest of Precept #3 opened up to me.  I did have a problem accepting this gift from God.  But along with the affliction has come affection and love.  Once I admitted my knowledge was limited while God's was not and once I professed my implicit trust in God, accepting His gift was easier.


My human condition means I will slide in my resolve to love God.  I have had moments of doubts.  But God's grace means that His love is still perfect toward me and my failure will never reduce His love for me.  His strength is now my strength.  I know from where my strength comes.


Psalm 121:1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from where comes my help.
********


Maybe you are tired of reading it, but I feel the need to repeat, "I may have cancer, but cancer will never have me."


Cancer will never have me because I belong to God and my life is ETERNALLY His.  My cancer is just temporary.


This is a solar-strength Street Light for me.  Maybe you, also, can walk in its light.

Don't Waste Your Cancer

On the eve of his cancer surgery, pastor and writer John Piper wrote down 11 precepts and some notes that would become a booklet.  This booklet is designed to help Christians come to grips with their cancer.  I list only the precepts here.  The booklet can be read in full at  

http://dwynrhh6bluza.cloudfront.net/resources/documents/5137/Don't%20Waste%20Cancer.pdf?1319729290  

These precepts are not trite, cheerful words spoken without thought.  They fight and force themselves onto the page and into the spirit.  They are not easy to read.  They forced me to think about hard questions with even harder answers.

"Why do I have cancer?"

"Where is God as I fight my disease?"

"Am I going to die?"

"Have I done anything to deserve this?"

Piper wrote these precepts after months of struggling.  i am still struggling.   Since I do not know what God knows I choose to concentrate on what I know and more than ever I know peace and security. 

•     I know I am God's child.  
•     I know that God loves me.  
•     I know that God is with me; he even indwells me.  
•     I know that Jesus said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."  
•     I know that I am in the arms of God.  
•     I know that is the right place to be.
•     I know that I have cancer, but cancer will never have me.

Piper's concepts will affect you emotionally.  You will not agree with them all.  You may even say, "I cannot accept this!"   I know this because this is the way I reacted.  I now realize my reaction partially came from my relational insecurity with Papa.  To a larger part, my reaction came from my stubbornness.  I refused to accept that someone else is the master of my fate.  I cannot judge what is best for me.  I do not have enough information to make those kinds of judgments.

Please remember three things as you read these precepts.

A.  Remember these words are for everyone, not just 'religious' persons.

B.  Remember that only through Jesus can we accept God's acts and still remain safe, secure, and at peace.

C.  Remember to follow the link above and read the booklet in full.  Piper's comments on each precept will give you much to consider.

In my next post I will tell you the two precepts that have grated me the most.  In the meantime, these precepts continue to shine on me and help me to live, love, and minister.  This is what Street Lights are supposed to do.

John Piper's "Don't Waste Your Cancer"

1.          We waste our cancer if we don’t hear in our own groanings the hope-filled labor pains of a fallen world.
2. We waste our cancer if we do not believe it is designed for us by God.
3. We waste our cancer if we believe it is a curse and not a gift.
4. We waste our cancer if we seek comfort from our odds rather than from God.
5. We waste our cancer if we refuse to think about death.
6. We waste our cancer if we think that “beating” cancer means staying alive rather than cherishing Christ.
7. We waste our cancer if we spend too much time reading about cancer and not enough time reading about God.
8. We waste our cancer if we let it drive us into solitude instead of deepen our relationships with manifest affection.
9. We waste our cancer if we grieve as those who have no hope.
10. We waste our cancer if we treat sin as casually as before.
11. We waste our cancer if we fail to use it as a means of witness to the truth and glory of Christ.