Just a few weeks ago I was diagnosed with a high grade extraskeletal osteosarcoma. The news came as a shock to me and the whole event seems surreal. However, I have had some time to reflect on the matter and that is what this paper is about.
Extraskeletal Osteosarcoma
Extraskeletal osteosarcoma is a fairly rare type of cancer where the mutated cells (cancer) attempt to grow bone in a soft tissue area. For me, the tumor was in the largest muscle on the back of my thigh. The tumor was removed, and my surgical scar travels about 6 inches down the back of my leg.
I am just starting this journey and do not know what the immediate future holds. I have yet to meet with the doctor to review the treatment options available. (See also my paper, Accepting Adversity.)
Root Cause
As I have been pondering my situation, I realized that the root cause of this physical malady is spiritual.
How is this a spiritual issue you might wonder? Well, we did it to ourselves, we broke the world. We are receiving the consequences of our actions.
God warned Adam that if he disobeyed, he would die.1 The death that God warned against started out as spiritual death in man, but affected the physical world all around us. Through Adam, we all have inherited this same condition.
Certainly Adam did not fully comprehend how his disobedience would play out. Years later, we are experiencing the death that came into the world. All of creation suffers now because of the fall of man.2
Hope
I have concluded that the mutated cells of cancer are part of this death. Nevertheless, there is hope.
The hope I am referring to is in the resurrection. Jesus died and was resurrected, and promises that those who are His will also be resurrected to be with Him.3 That is the hope of the Christian life.
Pie in the Sky?
Some hear this thought and believe I am espousing a ‘pie in the sky’ thinking. Yes, it is the hope of eternity, but the resurrection hope is more than that. Here is a list of some things this hope does in our lives here and now. The hope of the resurrection:
| Purifies us. | 1 John 3:2b-3 “We know that, when He [Jesus] appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” |
| Anchors us. | Hebrews 6:19 “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil.” |
| Helps us endure trials. | Romans 5:3-4 “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope.” |
| Gives us joy. | 1 Peter 1:6 “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials” |
| Renews us. | 2 Corinthians 4:16 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” |
| Gives us peace. | Romans 15:13 “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” |
So the future hope is effective in our lives now by purifying us and giving us a sure anchor that steadies us. We gain character and perseverance as we endure difficulties knowing that they develop our hope. And we can rejoice and have peace despite our circumstances as our soul is being renewed.
While my hope is in the future life, I benefit from the effects of resurrection hope in this life.
Conclusion
I appreciate the medical personnel who are working on my case, but my hope is not in them. I benefit from the skills they possess and the care they give, but my hope is in the resurrection of Jesus! Read more about the resurrection in, Hope of the Resurrection.
1 Genesis 3:3 “From the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ “
2 Romans 8:20-21 “For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”
3 John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”