Dad’s cancer diagnosis turned out to be a good thing! Dad was in his mid-thirties, married with two kids. He had just received a promotion to principal of one of the district’s largest elementary schools. We had just finished building and moving into a new home in a brand new suburb. Things were looking up! He went in for his annual physical and was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He came home looking at surgery and radiation treatment in his very near future. The news shook him!

It seemed like the rug had been pulled out from under him. His career was on the upswing, his earning power had increased, his professional and personal goals were moving closer to his grasp. Position and authority in the workplace, the respect of his peers, and vocational self-determination were his in increasing quantity. And then in the course of just a few minutes his life, his family’s well being and everything else was in jeopardy.

So what did Dad do? Well, he repented! Up to this point in his life my Old Man had been living an inherited Christian faith. We were the kind of family that was just involved enough in the church to keep the extended family happy. We would roll into worship a little late on Sunday mornings, stay afterward and visit a bit with folks and then slide out of there and get back to the business of living as we pleased. Cancer made my father face his own mortality and limitedness, and come to the conclusion that he had to depend on God and follow Jesus himself.

Dad was pushed into a serious re-evaluation of the purpose of his life and priorities of his living. He realized he needed to make some changes. So, we started getting more involved in church. The church’s calendar actually became the foundation of our family’s calendar. We were at Bible class and other events on time, each time. We developed close friendships with other people and my brother and I got involved with our youth group. Later, Dad gave up drinking and eventually quit smoking too. These were some big changes! My mother wasn’t too thrilled about it all, but that is a story for another time.

Repentance simply means “to turn our lives toward God.” That is what my Dad did and it in turn made all the difference for me. My faith grew because his faith grew! We all need moments in our lives that call us to re-evaluate who we are and how we are living. For Dad it took a cancer diagnosis and treatment for him to “wake up and smell the coffee.” We don’t need to wait for trauma to reorient ourselves. We can just remember Jesus’ call to “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near!” Matt 4:17.

Let’s weigh his words thoughtfully and think through how we need to turn our lives toward God, then let’s do it! See you Sunday, Howard