Getting It Right

Even in the midst of some of the most horrific persecution the early Church faced, the people, as it turned out, liked them. One of the most compelling factors that brought people to Christ was the Christians themselves. They served where they would be killed. They helped when it cost them everything. They showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of their property (Heb 10:34). And they still do. While conservative Ann Coulter was trashing brave Christians for getting sick for the sake of the gospel, the American public was being shown how a believer loves his neighbor as himself.

What I found most interesting were the comments from Dr. Kent Brantly.

Walking out of the hospital cured of the dreaded Ebola virus, he told the world, "God saved my life." This man had his head and heart in precisely the right place.

As I lay in my bed in Liberia for nine days, getting sicker each day, I prayed God would help be more faithful in even in my illness, and that in my illness or even death he would glorified.

God would be glorified in his illness and even in his death? That was Dr. Brantly's view.

Through the care of the Samaritan's Purse and SIM missionary team in Liberia, the use of an experimental drug, and the expertise and resources of the health care team at Emory University Hospital, God saved my life – a direct answer to thousands and thousands of prayers.

What a perfect juxtaposition. The bottom line -- "God saved my life." How? "Through" a host of earthly efforts -- the care of the team in Liberia, the use of an experimental drug, the expertise of doctors, and the prayers of thousands. But let's be clear (as he was). These were all means. "God saved my life."

Of course, his isn't the most popular view of God and His Sovereignty, but I sure think it is the right one. Through various means, often mundane and common and sometimes even miraculous, God accomplishes His will. In this case, it was the saving of Dr. Kent Brantly's life. Dr. Brantly saw that God's glory could be found in either saving his life or taking it. This time it was best seen in the saving of it. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21).