God’s Looking for a Person Simple and Plain, October 16
Inside the Cancer Journey: Daily Reflections for Those Coping with Cancer
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By Tom Corbell
“Heaven’s my throne, earth is my footstool. What sort of house could you build for me? What holiday spot reserve for me? I made all this! I own all this!” God’s Decree. “But there is something I’m looking for: a person simple and plain, reverently responsive to what I say” (Isaiah 66:2 MSG).
I was called by a lady who was a member of the church I attended. She told me of her daughter’s boyfriend who was dying of an aggressive form of cancer. She asked if I could go see him. When I entered his room, I saw a young man who couldn’t have weighed more than 100 pounds.
He could barely talk, but he asked me to tell him about God. I shared with him that I was a disciple of Jesus. I shared with him about my Lord Jesus. I mentioned Holy Baptism to him, and he told me he had never been baptized. I asked him if he wanted me to baptize him. He readily asked me to do so. I asked the nurse if she had a bowl I could use. She said no. She offered a Styrofoam cup, and I quickly thanked her. I prayed with this frail man and shared with him how in baptism, Jesus would graft him into the family of God. He prayed to receive Jesus, and then I baptized him. I was a privileged witness to both his belief/faith and his baptism. To God be the glory!
At that very moment, a non-verbal message was given to me. He wanted the Lord to hold onto him, not for a moment, but for eternity. He took his hands and held the water against his forehead as if he never wanted it to dry up.
This beautiful young man is described by God when He said: “But there is something I’m looking for: a person simple and plain, reverently responsive to what I say” (Isaiah 66:2b). He died the next day, and I was honored to conduct his funeral, where I told the story of the Styrofoam cup.
Unbeknownst to me, there was a potter in the congregation. His simple response to the simple story of a Styrofoam cup was to craft a beautiful baptismal bowl and pitcher (pictured above). I was able to use it a number of times, and it is in the Meditation Room of the Gordon Hospice House in Statesville, NC, to this very day.
Stop and think for a moment of a time when you could describe yourself as simple and plain and responding to God reverently—a time when you were in awe of God. Perhaps you were in awe at the birth of a child or the beauty of a sunset. But what about the awe of waking each morning astounded that Jesus died on the cross to welcome you into the family of God? Now, this is a gift to inspire awe and reverence!
The weight of cancer can push us to not only miss the awesomeness of life as a child of God, but to neglect the joy of responding to God’s gift of salvation. Plainly and simply, soak up the love shown to you by an unstoppable God—then raise your eyes in prayer and reverently respond.
Pray: Father, I come to you plainly, with joy and awe because of the love You have shown me, making me Your own child. I praise You for the love you show me every day in so many ways, and for Your promise of life eternal with You. Help me to keep my eyes simply on You. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Your Turn: To absorb the awe of the gift of your admittance into the family of God, take a moment and imagine your life without your salvation from Christ. How would your family life or work life be different? How would you cope with struggles, or even just your quiet moments alone? Take a moment to praise God for each place in your life where your salvation has been a gift.
Tom Corbell, Hospice Pastor
Tom is a Lutheran pastor who has served Jesus in both North and South Carolina for forty-nine years. Six of those years he worked as a Hospice Chaplain, and he encountered cancer daily. The privilege of praying, working with and supporting cancer patients and their families is an honor.
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