FURLOUGH STORIES

We studied the stories of the healing of Aeneas and the raising from the dead of Tabitha (Dorcas) at Meadowlakes this week and it made me think of those times when I was a kid and heard the late evangelist Marshall Keeble refer to such stories as Tabitha's as "Furlough Stories".  I not only think he was right; I also think that unless we capture that understanding of such stories, we'll continue our relentless religious arguing about such stories until the Lord comes again.  A furlough is a temporary reprieve from the heat of battle, followed by a return to battle.

Through this reference, Keeble was calling attention to the reality that while Aeneas was healed of his paralysis, at some point in his future he was undoubtedly faced with a new battle with some sort of disease.  And Tabitha who was raised from the dead, at some point in her future lay on her death bed again.  How important it is for us to understand that about such stories as this.  Otherwise we miss the most important point of such stories.

Throughout religious history, two distinct extremes have arisen regarding such stories.  On the one hand are those who say, "God does not do that kind of thing anymore."  In fact, their implication is that God cannot do things like that anymore.  Can He?  Of course He can!  He is God, isn't He?  He can do what ever He chooses.  Will He?  I don't know the answer to that.  And neither do you.  And because I know He can, and I don't know if He will, in each case of sickness and oncoming death, I'm going to choose to pray with every fiber of my being, persistently and doggedly, just as Jesus encouraged us to do.  And I'm going to pray trusting that whatever God chooses to do or not do will grow out of His great heart of love, whether it appears that way to me or not.

The other side suggests that every case of illness has a healing awaiting it IF we can just believe hard enough.  Some of these folks even believe they have been eyewitnesses to modern-day raisings from the dead.  Now, you may choose to debate these folks.  I don't.  But I am concerned that they seem to be turning faith into a "work" upon which miracles or the lack of them turn.  What a burden upon our shoulders!  And they seem to imply that ongoing life with no death experienced here is the norm, or could be, with sufficient faith.  I, on the other hand, don't believe this is home.  It's not a perfect place, never has been since the Fall of Man, and eternal life transcends anything that can be experienced by mere earthly existence.

In my thinking, both sides miss the point of the furlough stories.  What happened when Aeneas got sick again.  I'm betting he was encouraged, knowing that disease is NOT Lord- Jesus is!  What about Tabitha on her death bed?  I'm betting the fears that beset her the first time were not present the second time because she had learned first-hand that death is NOT Lord- Jesus is!  Fear gone!  Anticipation as to what Jesus might do this time oozing out of their every pore.  Life becomes an adventure.  Disease cannot scare us.  Death will not frighten us.  Now, that is real living!!