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Transcript 249A — Witnessing to the Terminally Ill
HC: Good evening. Welcome to Open Forum.
CALLER: Hello. I was wondering if you could help me with a problem I've been having. I'm a nurse, and I occasionally run into patients in the hospital who tend to blame God for their condition. Just today a doctor told a lady that she had a terminal illness, and her reply was, "Why did God allow this terrible thing to happen to me?" And I was wondering, What would be the best thing to say to people like this?
HC: Well, if I was talking to someone with a terminal illness (and actually that would include everyone, wouldn't it? – we're all going to die), I would certainly try to bring the conversation around to talk about eternity, and talk about God, who created us, and tel1 this person, "You know, very quickly now you're going to have to face God. And are you ready to face Him?" "Well, what do you mean by that?" Well, then you can start very simply to talk about the fact that the human race is under the wrath of God because of their sins. But God has provided a marvelous way to know the love of God, and to guarantee for us eternal life, eternal happiness and bliss, if we'll only recognize our sinful condition and cry out to God for mercy, and trust in Christ as our Savior and Lord.
You see, someone with a terminal illness is struggling with her disease. She is fearful as can be of what might come, and rightly so, because eternity is pressing upon her. And she must not be denied the knowledge that there is a way of escape, that there is a way where the future can look more bright than anything this world has ever held for her. But in order to achieve that bright and glorious future, there has to be a firm and honest recognition of where she is now, that she's under the wrath of God because of her sins, as the whole human race is.
CALLER: That's really beautiful. Okay. Thank you.
HC: You're welcome. Good night.