Us As a Whole

You ever get the feeling that God considers all human beings as one massive organism. When I watch the rain, I watch the whole of it. I simply cannot focus on one drop at a time. But, I can take action against all of the rain. I can run for cover to get out of the downpour. I can toss a tarp over a bicycle left outside in the backyard. I can clear debris from my house’s gutters. I can turn off the automatic sprinkler system to save a few bucks. And yes, I know I’m not God.

But that does not keep me from trying to figure out how God works. 

Last night, my wife and I took our Labrador Rocky for a walk. Halfway down a hilly road, Jules, a beautiful chocolate Lab started tuning up for her usual Rocky visit. Her owner and our good friend Sue let Jules out the front door. As Rocky and Jules began tumbling in the front yard, Sue quietly approached.

“Have you heard about Dave?” she said.

We hadn’t heard the latest.

“He passed away last night.”

And then she started crying and fell into my arms. The three of us just stood there. And then came a collection of the usual vocal cliches. My wife and I were deeply saddened.

Dave, his wife Susan, and their spaniel Tulla  left our community in their motorhome about a year ago. Their goal was to travel around America for about 3 years - then decide what’s next. Six months into their dream, Dave got cancer. 

Dave, Sue, and Tulla wintered in Wisconsin as Dave received exam after exam, treatment after treatment. Their original goal was to reach Florida by Christmas. They did reach their destination sometime after the new year.

I decided to pray for Dave and Sue everyday before breakfast. A short prayer asking God to cure, to watch over, to keep strong. I really tried to somehow connect with God on this. I thought perhaps I could hand over my request to the Holy Spirit dwelling inside me. After all, The Spirit would know how to reach God.  Hopefully, I was not the only soul praying. 

A few weeks ago I heard that Dave was failing. The family was now campering in Temecula - about 60 miles from home. Dave was scheduled for a surgical procedure that would drain his system of the debilitating and poisonous liquid that had built up from the disease. That was the news until last night. 

So, what benefit to Dave did my praying provide? Seems that any benefit was for my sake. Making me feel better as a Christian. I was doing my part. I was concerned and I was doing something. We’re told to pray, but Dave died nonetheless.

So we have death and we have prayer. Do we really thing our prayers can stave off the inevitable? After all, we all die. We can pray that the afflicted avoid pain and discomfort. We can pray that the dying go peacefully. We can - but we rarely see our prayers realized.  

That’s why I think God considers all human beings as one massive organism. We should try something. Every person in the world should pray the same prayer day in and day out - something big - like a cure for cancer. One massive organism sending one big message, one colossal prayer God’s way. Maybe this will work. Then we’ll know. And if this doesn’t work, we’ll also know.