Today at work we had our annual end of the year meeting in which we hear about how well (or how poorly) the company is doing. The last few years haven't been so good but things are improving.
One of the features I like best about this meeting is when we hear about drugs we have worked on making it to market and helping people's lives. Today they did something different. Today they showed a short video about a three year old girl with a rare genetic disease which prevented her from being able to walk or talk or use her arms much. She was given one of the experimental compounds that we work on. Within a few short months she was able to speak and use her arms and even walk a little bit, although with great difficulty. Her legs twisted under her and she had to be supported. But she was upright and moving! The smile on her face said it all.
So often we take things like mobility for granted. This little girl still has a lot of battles ahead but she has the right attitude. And this is why I love my job. You can't buy moments like these.
Why is it that the Bible promises so much, yet leaves us with the frustration of just words? Jesus performed healings; he gave his disciples the ability to perform healings, and he explicitly said that those of us who follow him would be able to do the same thing. In the Book of Acts, Peter and another apostle are walking past a crippled man who is begging on the street. They turn to him and say, "Silver and gold have we none, but what we do have, we give you. In the name of Jesus, walk!" And the man stands up and walks. Paul is preaching a long-winded sermon in an upper room, some kid is sitting in the window, falls asleep and tumbles three stories down to his death. No problem. Paul just runs down, lays on top of him, and the kid is as good as new. Luke even says that people were taking Paul's handkerchiefs to use to heal the sick! And yet, my friend is in pain with cancer and nobody can do a damn thing for her to ease her suffering. All we have to offer is words!
Why is is that? It's so frustrating. We are so goddamn helpless. If there were any first century Christians who had the agony of watching a loved one suffer intractable pain for months on end, and seeing their prayers go unanswered, the Bible is silent about that. The only hint we get that things might not have been so easy for them either is the mention here and there in the epistles that some were concerned about the fact that some of their members had died before the Lord's return. Be patient, is the answer. Be patient. A thousand years is as a day to the Lord.
But we are going to have to do better than that. As far as I am concerned, in the conflict between faith and science, it is science that is going to win hands-down. It is science that offered this little girl more than words. Science is doing what faith cannot. Maybe I am asking too much of faith, but a faith that promises one thing but tells me I should settle for another is no kind of faith for me.
One of the features I like best about this meeting is when we hear about drugs we have worked on making it to market and helping people's lives. Today they did something different. Today they showed a short video about a three year old girl with a rare genetic disease which prevented her from being able to walk or talk or use her arms much. She was given one of the experimental compounds that we work on. Within a few short months she was able to speak and use her arms and even walk a little bit, although with great difficulty. Her legs twisted under her and she had to be supported. But she was upright and moving! The smile on her face said it all.
So often we take things like mobility for granted. This little girl still has a lot of battles ahead but she has the right attitude. And this is why I love my job. You can't buy moments like these.
Why is it that the Bible promises so much, yet leaves us with the frustration of just words? Jesus performed healings; he gave his disciples the ability to perform healings, and he explicitly said that those of us who follow him would be able to do the same thing. In the Book of Acts, Peter and another apostle are walking past a crippled man who is begging on the street. They turn to him and say, "Silver and gold have we none, but what we do have, we give you. In the name of Jesus, walk!" And the man stands up and walks. Paul is preaching a long-winded sermon in an upper room, some kid is sitting in the window, falls asleep and tumbles three stories down to his death. No problem. Paul just runs down, lays on top of him, and the kid is as good as new. Luke even says that people were taking Paul's handkerchiefs to use to heal the sick! And yet, my friend is in pain with cancer and nobody can do a damn thing for her to ease her suffering. All we have to offer is words!
Why is is that? It's so frustrating. We are so goddamn helpless. If there were any first century Christians who had the agony of watching a loved one suffer intractable pain for months on end, and seeing their prayers go unanswered, the Bible is silent about that. The only hint we get that things might not have been so easy for them either is the mention here and there in the epistles that some were concerned about the fact that some of their members had died before the Lord's return. Be patient, is the answer. Be patient. A thousand years is as a day to the Lord.
But we are going to have to do better than that. As far as I am concerned, in the conflict between faith and science, it is science that is going to win hands-down. It is science that offered this little girl more than words. Science is doing what faith cannot. Maybe I am asking too much of faith, but a faith that promises one thing but tells me I should settle for another is no kind of faith for me.
