Sad

This whole story is sad.

In a little town in Wisconsin, an 11 year old girl died from untreated diabetes. Note that I said UNTREATED diabetes.

Diabetes is nothing new. Most people are aware that this disease is affecting more and more people in the US. I am one of them. I was diagnosed 20 years ago and live with the problems caused by the disease every day.

But the disease IS treatable. In this case the parents relied on prayer to cure their daughter. They believe in the bible and believe that all healing comes from God.

Now I am not opposed to that view. I guess I just look at it from a different angle.

There is an old story that has been used by many a preacher as a sermon illustration. The basics of the story are that a man was trapped on the top of his house due to a flood. His neighbors offered help to take him to safety and he refused stating that God would save him. The water got higher and a boat came by and offered to take his to safety and again he refused. God will save me. The water rose even higher and as his house was about to go under water a helicopter came by and offered to rescue the man. Again he refused stating that God would save him. In the end, the man was swept away and drowned. When he made it to heaven he asked God why he didn't save him. God answered that he had sent his neighbors, a boat and a helicopter to rescue him. All he needed to do was work with God and accept the help that he had sent.

I think the same principal applies here. There is help in the medical field for people with diabetes. All we need to do is take that help. All these parents needed to do was seek that help. They did not. They left the girl's health in God's hands.

I believe that every new medical miracle that comes along is a gift to us from God. All healing does come from God in the form of medical break through. Its not that there aren't still big miracles that occur every day. But the little miracles, such as insulin, are also sent to us from God.

But we have to be willing to accept God's help. Just as salvation and freedom from sin were provided by God in His Son, Jesus Christ, the acceptance of this gift is up to us. God does not force it on us. We are free to choose.

So it was for this little girl. The parents could have accepted the God provided treatment that doctors could have provided. Instead they made the decision not to accept that help and now their daughter is with God.

God provides but it is up to us to accept.