A Purpose for Cancer
Dr. Tom Kendall tells a story of how cancer changed a man’s life forever.
The phone rang in early November. Dr. Tom Kendall answered. He was greeted by his friend on the other end of the line was a friend who had traveled to Lomé to visit family. The man’s sixty-year-old cousin had been suffering from severe abdominal pain for the last six months. The pain was so intense that the man had a resulting loss of appetite and began to lose weight. Medical treatment aimed at diminishing his pain had no effect. A CT scan soon revealed a huge mass in his pancreas compressing his surrounding organs. The treating physicians in Lomé referred him to specialists out of the country for surgery. Dr. Kendall’s friend had called to see what could be done locally as a big surgery and hospitalization on top of an international trip was an impossibility for them. Recognizing their desperation, Dr. Kendall and the other staff at Hôpital Baptiste Biblique (HBB) admitted the man and began preparations for surgery. Dr. Kendall recounts his first visit with the man in his hospital bed,
“We had a long talk about his physical condition, his symptoms, the findings on exam and on the CT scan, and what I thought was going on. After all this discussion, I turned the topic to spiritual matters, and asked him if he was a Christian.
‘Yes, of course,’ he said.
‘So you expect to go to heaven after you die, hopefully a very long time from now?’ I replied. Again, his reply was in the affirmative.
‘As a Christian, why it is that you will go to heaven?’ I continued, hoping to gain a glimpse into the genuineness of his profession.
‘I will go to heaven because I have done good works all my life,’ he responded."
Dr. Kendall realized the man did not have a clear, biblical understanding of the Gospel of salvation by faith in the finished work of Christ, so he walked him through the Bible's teaching. Right there at his bedside, they discussed sin, God's holiness and justice, our condemnation, God's provision of a Savior to redeem us - a Savior whose substitutionary atonement is the sole basis for the pardon of our sins - and whose imputed righteousness is the sole ground of our justification, as opposed to our own good works. I could tell this was all new for him, so I thanked him for listening and suggested that the very reason God brought this suffering into his life was so that he would end up in our hospital that very night listening to the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. The next morning, the first thing Dr. Kendall heard as he walked up to the man’s bedside was that he had repented of his sins, renounced his confidence in his own good works, and was now looking to Christ alone as his Savior from sin!
photo by Liz Ortiz
He underwent his surgery in complete peace A local pastor and the chaplain staff discipled the man during his recovery and noted that he was faithfully reading his Bible. As it turned out, the diagnosis was unfortunately malignant, and while the surgery certainly made his last few days here on this earth less painful, he passed away after Christmas.
Normally we associate cancer with mortality, and rightfully so. But it is only the sovereignty of God that can take cancer - normally linked to death -and make it something to bring someone to Christ, our life!
“We rejoice in God's kind and merciful plan to use pancreatic cancer as a means to bring this man life!”
Dr. Kendall focuses on the sovereignty of God and encourages readers to read his last statement again and consider the bigger picture in this situation. Beyond the cancer and the death of this man, God was at work to rescue his soul giving him not earthly healing and relief but eternal life instead.
The doctors did not manage to get a picture of the man, but they remember him as smiling and joyful. So, it would seem that you will just have to wait to see it until you meet him in heaven and he hears how you and other like you played a part in his life by continuing to support the team and the work at HBB.
Share TRUTH & HOPE
In the medical world not all patients receiving medical care survive their diagnoses or procedures, however, each one hears of the TRUTH of Jesus Christ and is given an opportunity to accept HOPE for themselves. Will you share truth and hope today by giving to HBB?
Hannah Strayer is a missionary using media on the field to communicate stories of need with others God may be calling to help resolve them. You can learn more about her or begin partnering with her today! You can also follow her on social media (just scroll to the very bottom of this page!)
Liz Ortiz is a preparing to enter into long term ministry with ABWE in Togo, West Africa. She felt God calling her to missions at the age of 9. She now uses her expertise to tell the stories of people who have been transformed by the gospel. You can begin partnering with Liz today!"