The Problem of Perspective

 One of my greatest aspirations in life has always been to become a dad. Long before I was married, I had imagined many things I wanted to do with my children. It was not until my wife and I found out in December that we were going to have a boy that those dreams became more vivid. I could picture witnessing Joses’ first steps, reading him Bible stories at bedtime, and teaching him to drive a car. I had great joy in imagining what kind of man he would become. However, all of those dreams were crushed in January when we found out that Joses has a condition called Anencephaly. If my son is born alive, his condition has a 100% mortality rate shortly after birth. The doctors say the most we can hope for is holding our sweet son for a few moments before he dies in our arms.

It is so easy to see this just from a grieving father's perspective with all of my lost hopes and dreams of playing ball or going to a big league game with my firstborn son. Selfishly, I want to say "God! My son could have become a Christian and raised a godly family and perhaps have converted many people to you! Look at all of the good he could have accomplished!" This is David's point in Psalm 6:4-5 "Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love. For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise?" If my son is dead, how can he praise God to those who are living? These are the thoughts that often go through my head. It is similar to Paul’s dilemma in Philippians 1:21-24 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.” While Paul is saying this after he had lived and served God for years, my son might be allowed just minutes of life.

My heart aches for the son I thought I was going to have. It is such a temptation to see things only through the eyes of a grieving father. My challenge is seeing this situation from God's point of view. Here are some points that I need to keep in perspective:

First, none of us live very long in this world. Life itself has a 100% mortality rate. “As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments” (Psalm 103:15-18). With eternity in mind, the moments that my son might live really are not that much shorter than a man who lives for a century. Instead of making Joses go through a life where he experiences temptation, sin, and heartache, God is sparing my son and guarantees him a place in Heaven.

Second, God is not bound by time. Though my son will not live very long from my perspective, God doesn't see it that way. As the apostle Peter says "But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8). God is giving my son the lifetime that he should have. In that lifetime, my son will receive a lifetime of love from his family and especially his God.

Third, God has planned from the beginning that my son would

have an impact on this world. Even though there was a potential for good to come through his life, there may yet be a greater good to come through his death. If this inspires my wife and I, our families, our future kids, and the thousands of other people we reach to "set [our] minds on things above and not on things of this earth" (Colossians 3:2), then my son's death would not be in vain. My son Joses could have a greater impact on me going to heaven than any other person I know. As David said of the son he met for just a short while, "I shall go to him, but he will not return to me" (2 Samuel 12.23b).

When I see things from God’s perspective, my son is the lucky one. He will have the prize for which every Christian longs. He will be a servant in Heaven for all eternity. While I may wish that I could hear my son call me “daddy,” God says “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). Instead of blaming God for taking my son from me, I need to remember the advice of Solomon: “Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:2).

by Seth McDonald

I know my son is going to die.

I know my son is going to die. God knew His Son would die. If I could anything to stop my son from dying, I would. He could have done any number of things to prevent His Son from dying. Thank God that He loves me so much. 

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

Do not just thank Him. Submit to Him.

Glorifying God in Life and Death

My wife is 20 weeks pregnant with our son Joses. We were recently informed that Joses has a neural tube defect known as Anencephaly. It is a condition where my son never developed a brain. Since he has a brain stem and spinal column, he has a strong heart beat and will continue to grow while inside my wife. However, if my son survives being in the womb and the birthing process it is guaranteed that he will only survive a few minutes or at most a few days. While we are all destined for death (c.f. Hebrews 9:27) my son is destined to die shortly after being born.

A great deal of comfort has been given to me in these first few days by studying the book of Jeremiah. I first started applying it to my son when I read Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." Just as God knew Jeremiah before he was formed, God has known my son from long ago.

The story of Jeremiah is a difficult one. He was given the task to preach to a stubborn and rebellious people that God said in Jeremiah 7:24 “will not listen to you.” However, Jeremiah had a purpose in life. If Jeremiah fulfilled his purpose by preaching, God would be glorified. Even when no one listened and Jeremiah was persecuted, God's name would be exalted through him.

In a prophecy talking to the remnant that would survive captivity, Jeremiah writes "'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope'" (Jeremiah 29:11). God had a plan for them and He also has a plan for my son. According to our doctors, that plan includes dying within the next 5 months. However, just because there is death in his future, doesn't mean he does not have a purpose.

Jesus also had a purpose when He came to this world. He says in John 12:27-28 "Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. "Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." Instead of glorifying Himself, Jesus came like a servant to glorify His Master.

Everyone in this life has the same broad purpose: to glorify God. My son's purpose is no different. The details of that purpose are unclear. God is certainly capable of miraculously and instantly healing my son and then use him as a servant in this life. It is easy in my mind to see how this would be glorifying to God. Selfishly, this is what we would love to happen. However, it is not our place to ask why. Romans 9:20 teaches “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, ‘Why have you made me like this?’" My son's purpose is to glorify God. If it glorifies God more to take my son home, that is what we want to desire. Perhaps his death will lead people closer to God. We hope that it will bring my wife Megan and me closer together and make us more like Jesus. Perhaps through our example of faith someone else will be brought to the Lord. We desire the same faith as seen in Paul when he said “for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death” (Philippians 1:19-20).

Jesus said that the Pharisees and the lawyers in Luke 7:30 "rejected God's purpose for themselves." If God chooses to take my son in these next five months, Joses will have no control over fulfilling his destiny or not. He will do everything God wants him to accomplish. On the other hand, I have the option to reject God's purpose for me. Figuring out what my purpose is and how to fulfill it has been so strongly on my mind lately. Now, more than ever, I want to go to heaven to first meet my Savior but also my son.

First I realize that I have been created to be a servant. I have a Master who created me and has the authority to tell me what to do. My job is to serve the Father. I want to be like Jesus who said "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" (John 6:38).

One way I can serve my Master is by serving the people He loves. Passages like Mark 10:42-45 and Philippians 2:1-8 use Jesus as the ultimate example to show me how to unselfishly, humbly, and without conceit see others as more important than myself. Not only is service what I am made for, but also what will give me the most joy in life. Worldly wisdom doesn't understand because it does not grasp the initial premise that man is created to be servants. However, even Lumiere from Disney's The Beauty and the Beast understands, "Life is so unnerving, for a servant who's not serving! He's not whole without a soul to wait upon." When I am not serving others I am not doing what I was made to do.

Second, I am created for "good works". Ephesians 2:8-10 says "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (9) not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." While this passage clearly says that we cannot earn salvation by works, it also teaches that we are "created in Christ for good works." It is only by God's grace and mercy and our faith that we can be saved. But the question is, what kind of faith do I need?

Jesus "gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works" (Titus 2:14). This passage does not teach that we save ourselves through works, but that Jesus saves His people through His sacrifice. His people are those who are "zealous for good works." God wants people who are "zealous" to serve Him. This is more about what kind of heart you have and less about the details of the work you do. God does not need us to do anything for Him. For example, why do we give money to others and to serve the purposes of the local church? He does not need money (He is the Creator after all), but He does want giving hearts. The reason we give, attend worship, pray, sing, are baptized or do anything that can be called a "work" is to display our willing hearts to Him. True faith in God submits to His will and causes the faithful to do anything they can to make their Father happy.

Instead of going into details about more specific works, we should step back and see what Jesus teaches about the purpose for works in Matthew 5:14-16:

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

When people in the world see our works and our attitude toward them, they will give glory to God. This should be my motivation to work hard for my Father. I should live my life as if Jesus were living in my place.

"Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him" (2 Corinthians 5:9). This is my purpose.

By Seth McDonald

January 12, 2014