Michael Bublé

It is now almost three years since our younger daughter informed my wife and me that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Thankfully, due to prompt action, excellent medical and surgical treatment, and the prayer support of countless people, she is still alive and well - and just about to celebrate another birthday anniversary!

Our family situation, as with that of the majority of such situations, didn't "hit the headlines"! None of us is a so-called "celebrity". But today's reports that Noah, the three-year-old son of well-known singer Michael Bublé, has been diagnosed with cancer show that even the rich and famous are not immune to such circumstances.

I know very little about Michael Bublé.  However, I find it interesting that he is reported as having said: "Luisiana [his wife] and I will devote all our time and attention to help Noah to get better, for now suspending our professional activities. During this difficult time, we ask you to pray for him and please respect our privacy. We have a long road ahead and we hope that with the support of our family, friends, fans around the world and our faith in God, we can win this battle."

"... we ask you to pray for him ..." "... our faith in God, ..." What do such words mean to this man and his wife? I don't know. I hope that they mean as much to him as they did to my wife and me in our own situation. We had many friends praying for our daughter; our faith (and hers!) in Father God did not waver. That doesn't mean that the time leading up to her operation; the operation itself; the course of chemo-therapy that she had to undergo; and the succeeding course of radio-therapy; were all plain sailing. They were anything but! I would suspect that Michael Bublé would, as I would gladly have done in my own family's case, take all of the treatment himself if it would still lead to the cure of his son.

We live in a fallen world.  It's a world in which sin has taken, and continues to take, a terrible toll. However, it is still, as the song proclaims, "my Father's world". His love for you and for me was, and is, such that He did take our place - in the Persona (not a typo - see my book "Great Words of the Faith"; details above!) of the Son Who paid the penalty for our sin so that we might go free. As I put it to a group of English-speakers here in France, just a week or so ago: "He made the Son of His love (His 'only-begotten' Son) to be the object of His wrath, so that the objects of His wrath (you and me) might become the sons of His love!" That goes way beyond taking medical treatment for a dearly-loved child!
 

Of course, if it had been possible for me to take the treatment, and my daughter to have been declared free of cancer, but she had rejected her dad's offer, not only would she have had to go through the treatment herself, but she would have been considered to be totally mad! Yet so many either reject, or neglect, the wonderful offer of full salvation that is made to them.

Have you even considered your eternal destiny? It is in your hands. I can only tell you about it, and recommend my Saviour to you. Will you turn to Him, right now? Will you? You'll never regret it, if you do!