Within a week my brother Mike will die a slow and painful death, his body eaten by cancer, his lungs unable to take in air, his heart hardened...... and my heart aches for the wellness of his soul.
Is it possible to have lived a life tormenting others and at the end of life find peace through God's final forgiveness? I believe it is! And I want to do everything in my power to have that one last conversation with him one more time.
Mike and I had this conversation before... many years ago when I was just a young adult and then again when his body was dying of cancer and I was his match that gave him another 14 years to live.
But we have not seen any change, have not seen a softening of his shell, not experienced an ember of hope...... so is it still possible?
I believe in a God who can change things in the last minute,
who can redeem on the death bed and restore a soul and a relationship at the very last minute ....
Will Mike take the offer? The offer of God's forgiveness, the offer of my forgiveness? I don't know, but I cannot stand by and see a man drowning without throwing him a lift raft.
While I do this, I feel like I am actually jumping into the water myself, getting wet with the pain and sorrow of the past in the hope that I might be able to still reach him.... and the others that have been affected by the his life.
So on Wednesday I will go to Germany.....