Healing and cereals

You probably wouldn't be surprised to hear that I am often asked why someone died, especially young, when they were 'such a good Christian'. This is usually suffixed with the question 'why did they die', the answer to which is that they died because they were human and that's what humans do, they die.

A surgeon friend once came and spoke to a group of schoolchildren for me regarding life and death, healing, pain and suffering. This group of sixth-formers were more than a little taken aback when the surgeon explained that life was a terminal condition and that even the oxygen we think we breath was actually (in the right, or should that be wrong, proportions) actually a killer.

I am not sure why, but people seem to expect that because they are 'Christian' this means that they won't (or shouldn't) die young or suffer from nasty illnesses. If this was the case then just about everyone I know would sign up and become Christian today. The problem is of course that this would make Christianity like some of the breakfast cereals when I was a child. Let me explain (yep, you'd better for we are sorely confused now Vic you Muppet I hear you shout):

As a child, I really loved Sugar Puffs but one of the other brands, which I wasn't that keen on, started putting a plastic toy in the box (beat my Nan's plastic roses from the washing powder anyway!) and so I pestered my Mum to start buying me that brand. I ate them, not enjoying the product and put up with the flavour and the texture and everything, because I wanted to collect the toys. Eventually I got fed up with them and returned to my Sugar Puffs.

The problem is, that if being a Christian meant that we wouldn't die young or have nasty illnesses and the like, then many would come for the toy rather than because they believed. If I were God I'd have a clause which says 'merely coming for the fringe benefits without the benefit of belief negates the benefits' (see why I'm not God?).

The other problem is that we seem to think that if we pray then God has to answer it and do what we prayed for. This isn't prayer but the issuing of an instruction and God (could be a woman after all) doesn't take being told what to do very well at all! The Bible tells us that God knows our needs before we do and my take on this is that God also knows when our 'needs' are 'wants' and vv and actually does respond.

I am naive, because I do expect to see healing (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) and do wonder why I have seen more whilst working in other places than I have here.

Remind me to mention a healing service, a Sunday newspaper and a saint called George Canty.

Gotto go - full dance card and only halfway through.

Pax