Seeing Jesus in Kicking Ass*

This post is dedicated to our friends Andrew (age 17) and Connor (age 7). I know many of you have been praying for them as you have been praying for us. As of two months ago neither Connor or Andrew had a bone marrow match and both were desperately searching for one (Connor for over five years!). Kim and I just got back from visiting Children's Memorial Hospital and it's hard to believe that both Andrew and Connor are on the same floor awaiting to get their bone marrow transplants within 24 hours of each other (Andrew tomorrow at noon and Connor on Thurs ~8am). Is God AMAZING or what? PLEASE pray for them! The transplant itself is usually not a big deal but the weeks that follow are crucial. There is a lot of risk of complications and especially  Graft-Versus-Host-Disease (GVHD) "in which the newly transplanted material attacks the transplant recipient's body". Please pray against this if you would and for the strength and faith of their families. These have been difficult days for all of them as their young sons prepare to essentially reset their bodies - please read their blogs on my blogroll for updates and specific prayer requests.
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*Sorry*. I know there are some people out there that are very uncomfortable with using the word "ass" (and apologies to any children that read this blog), but before you make any quick judgments allow me to explain why I so carefully chose this word. I am the son of a Presbyterian elder so to be honest I have never been much for swear words but I made an exception a few months ago...

The night after Kim went Code Blue from the infusion reaction,  I declared war on cancer and so I ended a post entitled, "Dark Night of the Soul" with this:

We have a long road ahead but know that God is living and He is hearing the prayers of His beloved children. In the meantime I am giving Mr. Lymphoma a little warning: "Look out, brother! Because me, my God, and an army of prayer warriors are coming to KICK...YOUR...ASS!!!"

Here's why. Cancer is a horrible disease and it's certainly worthy of having it's butt kicked but there's something more. I believe cancer is a product of sin. This world was not meant to have horrible things like cancer. Nothing opens your eyes to this more than walking around the cancer floor of a children's hospital. The Bible opens with God’s creation of the heavens and the earth and a proclamation that “it was good” (Gen 1:31). However, after the fall of man, what was once “good” becomes marred and distorted by sin and from that point on we see the pernicious effects of sin, which include disease, disasters, and death. But God doesn't sit still, He sends His Son, Jesus, who demonstrates a greater power...a divine power over demons, disease, disasters and death – a glimpse of the kingdom to come – and leaves with the promise of a new heaven and a new earth (Rev 21:1).

Make no mistake about it - God hates sin and the effects of sin (including cancer) and that's why He sent His son Jesus - quite frankly, to kick it's ass. Even from the very beginning, immediately after the Fall, God makes the prophetic promise that although Satan would strike Jesus via death on a cross, Jesus would eventually administer a crushing blow back through the victory found in His resurrection:

"...he [Jesus] will crush your head, and you [satan] will strike his heel" -Genesis 3:15b

Now, this may be a liberal translation but "crushing someone's head" in my mind is akin to "kicking his ass". Paul even talks about this resounding victory that we will have in Christ when he says:

 "..and he [God the Father] put all things under his feet [Jesus] and gave him as head over all things to the church... -Ephesians 1:22-23

Now remember this was written to the Church in Rome - the birthplace of the largest empire this world has ever known - they knew all about butt-kicking. In the Roman world when you had soundly defeated your enemy you took the highest ranking officer and placed your foot on their throat - the most vulnerable position possible. This was a profound picture of absolute victory (aka: "ass-kicking"). The crazy thing is that Paul actually says God will do this through OUR feet.

"the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet..." -Romans 16:20

Amazing. The Church has the power through Christ to do some major damage to sin and the effects of sin, and we have seen this firsthand through the power of prayer in the last four months.

God hates cancer more than we hate cancer, because he hates what sin does to His children. But He didn't just sit there and complain, He did something about it - something drastic. He sent His son to deal with sin and all the effects of sin by dying on the cross. He sent him to earth to kick sin's ass. And when he returns, he will finish what he started...

And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer. -Revelation 6:2

So if you find yourself beat up by sin or the effects of sin. Fret not. We know how it's all going to end. Someone's going to get their ass kicked and it ain't going to be pretty. I can't wait.

In His Grace,

Peter & Kim