|
Because God punished
his parents, for God says: “I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth
generation of them that hate me” (Exodus 20:5). Of course, you will say: ‘How
can a good and merciful God strike the child of somebody because of a sin
committed by his parents? Well, remember that God is also a righteous God and
He makes man reap the fruit of his iniquity. For instance, as you know, some
children are born with AIDS because of sins against nature committed by their
parents; don’t you think that this is the consequence of their parent’s
iniquities? Now, let me remind you of what happened to David, the king of Israel. As you know, one evening David sent for Bath-sheba,
the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, and he lay with her and
she conceived. Then David had Bath-Sheba’s husband killed. Now, you know that
David was a man after the heart of God; however, what did God do? Did He
close His eyes? Did He pretend nothing had happened? Not at all, for He sent
the prophet Nathan to David to foretell him His judgements against him. Among
God’s judgements against David was also this: “Because by this deed thou hast
given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also
that is born unto thee shall surely die” (2 Samuel 12:14). And Nathan
departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bore
to David, and it became ill. Now, don’t you think that the child’s disease
was a great sorrow for David and Bath-Sheba? I personally think so. Furthermore,
you must bear in mind that David fasted for seven days on behalf of the
child, thinking and hoping that God would be gracious to him that the child might
live, but his prayers and his fasting were in vain; God did put the child to
death (2 Samuel 12:16-18). Now, what sin did that child commit? I think that
child did not commit any sin, nevertheless the
judgement which God sent upon David was right. Of course, God can punish a
father or a mother striking their child while the child is still in his
mother’s womb. I realize that this reason is hard to be accepted, but the
Scripture authorizes us to uphold it.
|
|
But there is another reason
why sometimes a child is born sick, which is this, “that the works of God should
be made manifest in him” (John 9:3), thus his sickness is for the glory of
God. For God will heal the child and His name will be glorified, as in the
case of the man born blind healed by Jesus Christ (John 9:6-34). Bear in mind
that in the last century there were many cases of children born lame, blind,
deaf, or with other physical dysfunctions, who were
healed and as a result of their healing their parents were strengthened in
the Lord or converted to the Lord.
|
|
Therefore, I think that the best thing a believer can do toward those
families in which there are children born sick is to encourage the parents of
the child to have faith in God and to pray to Him that He may heal their
child; for I firmly believe that the sick can be healed in the name of Jesus
Christ still today. “Pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The
effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16), says James. Therefore, let us not hesitate to say
to these people that the Lord Jesus Christ can heal their child. If they are
not believers, they must be exhorted to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ that
they might be saved and then to believe that God can heal their child. Know
this, that sometimes God “those who suffer He delivers in their suffering; He
speaks to them in their affliction” (Job 36:15 - NIV). Our hope is that these
people, through this tragedy, might come to the knowledge of the truth. How
many parents who had their son drug-addict or sick were converted to the
Lord! Instead, if they are believers, they must be exhorted to believe that
the Lord can heal their sick child. In this manner they will strengthen
themselves in the Lord and will begin to wait for His powerful deliverance.
|
|
Of course, the will of God be done, God reigns and He does whatever pleases
Him. I cannot assure you that God will heal every child born sick or
deformed, however until God does not reveal us that He does not want to heal
somebody we must keep praying to Him in faith before the throne of His grace.
He is the Almighty and He is Merciful, remember that always. One thing must
be said about the eventuality God has decided not to heal a child of a couple
of believers who have a good conscience and who call upon His name in faith
and in truth that He may heal their child; in this case for sure one of the
reasons God does not heal their child is to keep them humble, yes, because
affliction keeps us humble; trials – sickness, etc. – keep us from becoming conceited.
In the Scripture we have an example of how sometimes God, in order to keep
some of his children from becoming conceited, strikes them with something
that outwardly seems a punishment for a sin they have committed and refuses to remove that affliction from them even if they plead
with Him to remove that affliction; this example is Paul. Here is what he
says to the saints of Corinth: “And lest I should be exalted above measure
through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in
the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above
measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from
me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is
made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my
infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take
pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in
distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians
12:7-10). As you can see, Paul prayed to God three times that He might take
the angel of Satan away from him, but the Lord told him that His grace was
sufficient for him, for He would show him His power in his weakness. In other
words, that angel of Satan would keep tormenting him to keep him from becoming
conceited because of the abundance of the revelations God had given to him.
That torment would make him weak, but at the same time he would be strong.
The answer to those prayers was negative from a human point of view, yet it
was just, for God is Just and knows always what He does and why He does what
he does. His ways are righteousness, even when He answers some of our prayers
in the negative. To Him be the glory now and
forevermore. Amen.
|
