One month ago, a seven year old boy had difficulty seeing. He was taken to his pediatrician for a check up. Days later the test results were in. This little boy had brain stem cancer. Just weeks before this he was dancing, riding his bike, and the world was a kind place. Days after his diagnosis his small head was covered in sutures, and his arms covered in brusies. IV's and tubes poured from his little body. He could barely speak and hold his head upright. He could no longer eat and only food from a tube would attempt to nourish him. He was disappearing before our very eyes. The first thing to vanish, was his smile. Medically, it was not possible as the nerve damage began to manifest. The doctors gave up hope and sent the little boy home to die. He was struggling, suffering, tormented by fear. The pastor came to visit and talked about the love of Jesus and how Jesus would make us new. He explained that being baptized with water would represent dying and rising new in Christ. "Do you want to be baptized? Do you want to follow Jesus?" he asked. A little boy who's life was pouring from his veins was about to answer. Life was cruel, it hurt, and as he watched his three little sisters play, he realized it also wasnt fair. "YES." The little boy answered. After everything he had been through, all the agony his mind and body were in, this little boy still wanted to follow Jesus. Sure, he wasn't happy, probably somewhat angry, but he still knew that his God loved him and wanted to follow Him, even in this tragic time. LESSON ONE. A week later little Stephen was asked to "Make a Wish". He wanted to fly like the birds and angels. He settled for a plane ride to Disney World. Bound to a wheel chair and deteriorating quickly, he flew for the first time. The place he arrived at was not the happiest place on earth, in fact, it quickly became hell. Days into the trip, this little boy lost his ability to hear, then to see. He was flown home early, and his dream cut short, along with his life. Hours after his arrival home, he struggled to breath, and he took his last breath in his parents arms. His three little sister did not fully grasp what had happened, but one girl understood more than the others. She had wanted for weeks only one thing, to hold her brother. He had been in so much pain that this was not possible, but on this day, while he was in the arms of Jesus, she crawled next to him and held him as the hours past. To hold her brother, to hug him, was her final goodbye. Two days later people were knelt in prayer before a small white casket trimmed with gold. Stuffed animals lined the church floor and the people wept. The parents, suffering and in the middle of tragedy still were able to mutter the words "Praise God..." They did not praise God because there son was dead, rather they praised God because HIS son had died, allowing us all to live for eternity beside a King. While our hearts all knew this, the reality of this moment, the pain of this time, pushed that thought to the back corners of the church. Our hearts stood in faith, but our bodies wept in mourning. God loved us so much that He gave his only son. He sent Him here to live and to die. God gave us everything dear to Him, His heart was on that cross as His son bled to death for the sins of the world. Jesus could not even carry his cross as his neared the end of his earthly journey. Why? Because he was already carrying all of our sins. As tears hit the sanctuary floor, I gazed up at the gold cross hung high above the casket. The tears fell harder than the springtime rain to soon follow this death. Did I cry because Stephen was gone, or did I cry because our God was so great? The irony of this moment is overwhelming but it also proves that God's love and peace are abundant in times when we cannot imagine facing this cruel world alone. The fact that any mouth near this tragedy could even mutter words of the Lord, is evidence that God if faithful. Not a dry eye left that church that evening, and the day to follow the tears continued. Adults and children carried this little boys body to rest. A video of his life played on several screens, but the greatest performance of this little boys life was not this moment of death, but the moment he gave his heart to the Lord. How long will one grieve for a death that came too soon, how long will his memory stay fresh in our minds and how long must the pain continue since his has stopped? Where his pain ended, ours began. All we can do is pray that our joy comes in the morning and that the pain of this cruel world is lifted enough for us to continue carrying on in our journey home, where we all have a room, decorated and designed just for us.
Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
