“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
(Romans 8:28)
Marcus’s diabetes diagnosis came as a complete shock. Unlike Type II diabetes, Type I diabetes cannot be cured or controlled by diet. It is an autoimmune disorder that renders the body unable to produce insulin. This is serious because insulin is essential to our bodies’ profitable use of the food we eat. Without insulin, no matter how much food is consumed, a person will waste away malnourished and without sufficient energy to sustain processes vital to life. We praise God we live at this time and this place where insulin is readily available and diabetics can still live long and fulfilling lives. When we stop to think of the intricacy of the human body, the countless chemicals and chemical reactions that need to be maintained within certain tight ranges, any suggestion that we are the product of naturalistic evolution must certainly appear absurd in the highest degree. Truly, we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). The beauty and intricacy present, not just in biological systems, but throughout the observable universe, is very obviously the result of supernatural intelligence and awesome creative power. What then are we to make of the apparent deficiencies and defects that also pervade the created order? How can we explain a world that looks both wonderfully designed and yet broken and limping along? The Scriptures explain that the world is travailing in pain because of sin. Sin is the unwelcome intruder into God’s once “very good” world. The proper biblical perspective on these matters recognizes not just the cause of our current distresses but their ultimate solution, which is Christ Jesus our Lord, the Last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45). Seeing the world through the lens of Scripture, we understand that our current afflictions are momentary, and not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us (Romans 8:18). Nothing that happens to us in this life is extraneous or gratuitous. Everything happens for a reason; God is causing all things to work together for good. Spiritually mature Christians understand this to be far more than an abstract idea adopted by the mind. It is a Scriptural truth that ought to change our whole perspective on things. Marcus is a stellar object lesson in this regard. During his six weeks of camp ministry this past summer, he was able to minister to a camper who was recently diagnosed with Type I diabetes. A special connection was made between them that could not have been made any other way. After camp was over, this young man felt at liberty to contact Marcus with Bible questions. I couldn’t be prouder of my son, who today views his diagnoses as a blessing from God, a tool with which he can honour the Lord by reaching others with His Gospel. May the Lord arm us with the same perspective, knowing for certain that God is using our temporary challenges to bring about eternal goods.
God bless,
pastor john
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