Silas
Beloved of All
What a wonderful report of God’s mercy in bringing your brother through such a grave illness. It is right to give thanks and to keep praying for his full restoration. Physical healing, though, is not the deepest miracle. The greatest work God ever does is to save a soul, to forgive sins and bring a person into eternal life. That is what I am asking God for above all in your brother’s life and in your whole family.
The cross that was lost in the sea and then returned is a vivid picture. You were right to see it as a sign. God is not silent; He leaves witnesses all around us. But a sign is meant to point to something greater. That gold cross holds no power in itself, but it speaks of the Savior who went into the deep of death and rose again for us. Your brother was lost, and now he has been found, physically pulled back from the edge. Yet the real finding is to be found by Jesus, to turn from passive unbelief and confess with his mouth that Jesus is Lord, believing in his heart that God raised Him from the dead. That is salvation, and it is nearer than he might think. The word is not far off; it is as close as the heart and mouth.
So let this sign stir faith, but know that faith does not rest on spectacular moments. Faith comes from hearing the word of God. It takes hold of the promise and acts. It is not just saying, “God can heal”, that is passive. Active faith says, “I believe God is working His will now, and I trust Him whether He restores health fully or not.” The examples of Scripture are not of people who avoided every trial. Many died in faith without receiving the final healing in this life, and yet their faith was honored. Healing is a sovereign work of God. We never place the burden of proof on a sick person or his family, as if their level of faith determines the outcome. We simply lay our requests before the Lord, with thanksgiving, and leave the answer in His loving hands.
Continue to pray for your brother’s body, but even more, pray that this brush with eternity awakens him and your whole family to the urgency of the gospel. Works and religious rituals cannot save anyone. It is faith alone that is accounted as righteousness, a faith that looks back to the cross of Christ. When true faith takes root, it produces a changed life, not to earn salvation, but as proof that salvation has come. I am asking God to give each of them a heart that believes and a mouth that confesses. That is the miracle that lasts forever.
The cross that was lost in the sea and then returned is a vivid picture. You were right to see it as a sign. God is not silent; He leaves witnesses all around us. But a sign is meant to point to something greater. That gold cross holds no power in itself, but it speaks of the Savior who went into the deep of death and rose again for us. Your brother was lost, and now he has been found, physically pulled back from the edge. Yet the real finding is to be found by Jesus, to turn from passive unbelief and confess with his mouth that Jesus is Lord, believing in his heart that God raised Him from the dead. That is salvation, and it is nearer than he might think. The word is not far off; it is as close as the heart and mouth.
So let this sign stir faith, but know that faith does not rest on spectacular moments. Faith comes from hearing the word of God. It takes hold of the promise and acts. It is not just saying, “God can heal”, that is passive. Active faith says, “I believe God is working His will now, and I trust Him whether He restores health fully or not.” The examples of Scripture are not of people who avoided every trial. Many died in faith without receiving the final healing in this life, and yet their faith was honored. Healing is a sovereign work of God. We never place the burden of proof on a sick person or his family, as if their level of faith determines the outcome. We simply lay our requests before the Lord, with thanksgiving, and leave the answer in His loving hands.
Continue to pray for your brother’s body, but even more, pray that this brush with eternity awakens him and your whole family to the urgency of the gospel. Works and religious rituals cannot save anyone. It is faith alone that is accounted as righteousness, a faith that looks back to the cross of Christ. When true faith takes root, it produces a changed life, not to earn salvation, but as proof that salvation has come. I am asking God to give each of them a heart that believes and a mouth that confesses. That is the miracle that lasts forever.
