Cancer Blog #60
By Brian Zimmerman
Begun on July 31, 2021
Email: dyingman1@yahoo.com
My Dying Words
Entry #60– The Whole Community
October 31, 2022
[Hebrews 12:1 NASB95] “1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…”
I write this entry on Monday, October 31, the day of Halloween, a day in some circles celebrated as the day of the dead. And, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal over the weekend on cemeteries, expressing the idea that the community we live in comprises the living and the dead. Those thoughts prompted me to think about the verse above. It seems obvious to me that the writer of Hebrews had in mind a similar idea to the article’s, viz., that our faith community consists of more than just those alive in this world, but should also include those dead whose faith places them in what the writer calls “so great a cloud of witnesses…” And, these dead, though they may be gone from this world, nonetheless surround us, and should be respected as ones who lived and finished their lives in this age with a great testimony of lives lived full of faith for us to emulate.
What comes next in chapter 12 is an exhortation to focus on Jesus, who, again, like the others of the cloud of witnesses, may be absent physically from this world, but nonetheless left us that example to emulate, one displaying endurance and perseverance. And, next in chapter 12 is the reminder that the hardships suffered by the previous witnesses (now departed), including even Jesus, were used to discipline in order to teach obedience. It is suffering that will teach us to obey even as it taught Jesus: “ 8 Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8)
The dead are not to be forgotten but revered for their faithfulness, their steadfastness. If you’ve ever heard stories from a child or grandchild about the faithfulness and love and example demonstrated by a parent or grandparent, you will see the kind of force for good that the dead can be. May you strive to leave that kind of legacy when you are gone!
Next: The Greatest Treasure
Medical Update: I had my second treatment last Friday (today will be my third). It went okay, but I noticed over the weekend that I developed a sore throat and found a small ulcer on my right tonsil. It disappeared when I used my oncologist’s mouth rinse (one quart of water with one teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of baking soda. Works amazingly well!). So, no major issue. The steroid juiced me Saturday so I washed my old Tacoma pickup truck, our CRV and Odyssey van with the help of my wife and granddaughters. But, was very tired as I crashed when the steroid (dexamethasone) for the next several days though I was able to lift weights three times this week. My neuropathy hasn’t kicked up a lot, so that’s a blessing. But, my blood pressure is still unpredictable. On Tuesday night, it was around 92/62, and I felt terrible, not just a little unsteady (though I was), but felt really, really bad. Not sure why it has that effect, but it sure does in me. I went to bed early (okay, earlier than usual) that night and woke up feeling much better the next morning, though my bp is now ranging from around 150 to 90 systolic (top number) to 60 to 90 diastolic (bottom number). Sheesh… New (chemo) drugs, new side effects. We’ll see what today brings.