As I Lay Radiating

Lying perfectly still on the radiation table, arms above my head, only moving my eyes, I watch as the big metal machine encompassing the source of the radiation rotates around my body.  I hear the monotonous “ehhhhhh”, indicating the radiation is currently being beamed at my chest.  My eyes examine the clear glass from which the beam emits, and I see nothing.  The only indication of the treatment occurring is that monotonous “ehhhhh”. 

Many thoughts quickly run through my head.  The first being how aggravating it is that when you can’t move, an annoying itch surfaces.  So, before the itch can drive me crazy, my mind quickly has a rescuing thought. How do I know the radiation is working if I can’t see it?  More so, how do I even know the radiation exists if I can’t see it?  No sooner is that thought in my mind then I hear the answering whisper “You don’t see me, yet you believe I exist.”

“Humm, interesting point God.”

As the machine continues to rotate and buzz I process the comparison between God and radiation. The glaring similarity is that they are both invisible to the naked eye. We cannot see God, but we are asked to trust and have faith in his existence.  Just like Dr. Brown asks me to have faith that the radiation beam is truly there though invisible.

They both are healing agents.  The doctor promises the radiation will heal my tissues by destroying any leftover cancer.  God promises to bring me spiritual healing, to free me from the deception of this cancerous world we live in.  So while I cannot see either of these medicinal beams, I have to trust they are making me healthier.

As the machine finishes its rotation, my comparison rolls on evaluating the efficacy of the promises made by both God and Dr. Brown.  The answer lies in the results.  God promised to make me a new creation by having faith in him (2 Corinthians 5:17).  I know that to be true in my heart.  I am a different person today than I was 13 years ago.  My heart wants to obey God, my heart understands the wisdom and truth of his words.  I can confidently claim those spiritual changes did not come from my rebellious, willful, and selfish heart.  They are the result of God’s healing promise.  Just as redness and “sunburn” will be my physical marker to indicate the radiation is healing my tissue. 

The heavy lead door opens and the technicians step into the room.  I am free to move.  And I sigh a contented sigh as I think how cool is my God.  His love is like an invisible beam of radiation pointed at our hearts, designed to heal what our world has broken.