Faith Healing

There once was a devout Christian family who lived in the suburbs. They went to church every Sunday, prayed before bedtime, and volunteered at the local shelter. At Christmas time they would "adopt" a family and give them a Christmas celebration that they would otherwise never experience.

It came to pass that in 1995 the father of the family contracted a debilitating lung disease. They did not go to the hospital because it was their belief that God would heal him. They prayed day and night, keeping vigil over their patriarch.

God heard their prayers and was saddened for the family for all the good works they had performed in His name. So, in his omnipotence he caused a ten year-old boy to fall from a tree in 1965. The boy broke his arm and was in pain, but when he went to the hospital he became curious about the nurses and doctors who treated him and healed his broken bone. This fascination carried him through school and he threw himself into the study of his science texts. He earned a scholarship at a prestigious university where he entered the pre-med program. His grades were high and all of his teachers agreed that he would one day make a fine doctor.

On graduation and the completion of his internship, he turned his eye toward researching lung diseases as an honor to his grandfather who died of emphysema when he was a young boy. The doctor became world-renowned for progress he made in treating conditions that were once thought incurable. On a day like many others he was driving to work but found that he had to take a detour through the suburbs due to a traffic accident on his normal route. It was as he was driving through a well off neighborhood when the engine light on the driving panel came on and smoke started to pour out from under the hood of his car. He pulled over and stopped the car, knowing that it wouldn't go and he would need an alternate transportation to work. He knocked at the house that he stopped in front of and asked the family therein if he could use their phone. Being a helpful family they showed the doctor to the phone.

While he was in their house the doctor saw the father laying pale and breathing with trouble. He said to the family, "I am a doctor and I study lung ailments. I have developed a treatment that will cure your father's disease if you'll bring him to the hospital."

The family thanked the doctor but said no, God would bring His healing presence if He so desired. The doctor was concerned but honored their wish. In due course a taxi arrived to take the doctor to the hospital and the family was left alone.

The family mourned when the father died a week later.