Recently the world lost one of its best and brightest minds. We also lost an awesome man of God who was faithful to accomplish great things for God’s kingdom here on this planet. Born in India, his family immigrated to Canada, and later he made his home in Atlanta, GA. He was born into a church going Christian family in India, but did not accept Christ as his Savior until he was recovering from a suicide attempt as a teenager. From that moment on as he heard the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ from a Bible in the hospital room, he was on fire to serve his Lord until the day he went home to Jesus.
Although I can’t claim to know him personally, I consider him a mentor of mine who made a great impact on my spiritual life and has assisted me to be more sold out for Jesus with each encounter, whether in person as a speaker, in his many books, or his thousands of radio programs. He was diagnosed with sarcoma, a rare form of cancer recently and is now in heaven, where I am confident was met by Jesus by the words written above in Matthew 25.
Here is one of the last messages he left with us, for Easter 2020, before he departed to glory:
“I am writing this from a cancer hospital in Texas. Two months ago I was startled after back surgery to learn I had sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, for which I am undergoing treatment. I have had a healthy life blessed by God, so this came as a shock.
I have always believed in the power of the message of Easter, but I believe it even more so now. It is the ultimate message of hope beyond all hopes; in fact, it is the ultimate grounding of hope.
I’ve been lying in my bed thinking how much the physical world reflects spiritual truths. Cancer is literally one rogue cell that begins to replicate itself, bringing death closer each day and overtaking a genuine life-giving cell. It’s amazing how this reflects the story of the fall in Genesis, when the Enemy of our souls caused Adam and Eve to question God; ‘Has God really spoken?’ Instead of choosing the life-giving breath of God, they allowed the rogue cell of disobedience and self-determination to overtake and metastasize in all of humanity.
Now, as we collectively spend billions of dollars battling this rogue cell, we have mainly two options before us: radiation, which zeroes in on the troublesome cells, or chemotherapy, a confluence of approaches including a litany of medications—like shooting buckshot in the dark, killing not only the bad cells but also the good ones. And so, in the end, the victory may be pyrrhic, perhaps costing the victor more than the vanquished.
When we rebelled against God, there remained in God’s economy the need for a savior, a perfect savior. That perfect savior was provided by God himself, in his Son. That gives an idea of how much God values every individual life. As the prophets foretold, the redeemer would come. He would be crucified and buried—the normal destiny of a spiritual cancer. But in an amazing prophecy, Jesus rose from the dead in three days, the victor truly victorious. God’s life-giving breath was restored to us.
And so with the apostle we can raise the question. ‘O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?’ (1st Corinthians 15:55). Sin is the rogue cancer cell within us, but the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus turned the tide in favor of God’s created order. So let us celebrate this Easter with gladness of heart and let us not look for life among death, because the grave is not victorious. It is the ultimate reversal of the fall, the ultimate cure.
As Nicholas Wolderstorff of Yale said when he lost his son in a climbing accident, ‘When we have overcome absence with phone calls, winglessness with airplanes, summer heat with air-conditioning—when we have overcome all these and much more besides, then there will abide two things with which we must cope: the evil in our hearts and death.’
The answer lies in the radiating Son of God who deals with the death cell of disobedience and restores the living cell. How sublime a truth! What a message of hope!
May we be moved to wonder and worship this week as we contemplate the cross and celebrate our risen Lord. Our cities smell of death. We need the aroma of life—his name is Jesus Christ.” (From the Gospel Coalition by Ravi Zacharias, April 9, 2020)
Thank you Ravi, we miss you but we are so thankful that our Lord allowed you to walk among us these many years. You have been a “true and faithful servant” of our Lord Jesus Christ and although we will miss you, you life lives on in the lives you have touched and continue to touch in your books, radio programs, and podcasts.
Jesus told us in Matthew, chapter 7: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few that find it.” (Matt. 7:13-14)
Ravi Zacharias is a man who took the narrow road of obedience and faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ and made a big impact for the Kingdom with his time on earth. May we be more obedient and faithful also so that we may enter that narrow gate also when we leave this earth.
PRAY
1. Thank You Lord for giving us your saint Ravi Zacharias and for the example he gave us to live our lives completely for You.
2. Thank You Jesus, for allowing us to hear from You, through your faithful servant Ravi, and we ask you to help us to live more for you today.
3. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit today and use us to make a difference for You in our families, communities, and for our nation.
Lord help our nation to turn to You during these difficult times of viruses and riots, and injustice everywhere. Give our nations leaders wisdom that comes from You, and not our fallen world
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