Sanju was 36 years old when he finally decided it was time to take his abnormal belly to the doctors. It wasn’t until he started having trouble breathing that he decided something may be wrong. Gallons of fluid were drained from the belly, the doc reaches in and finds a hand – it is Sanju’s twin! He had carried his twin inside of him for 36 years.
You must realize you are sick before you get better.
Conviction comes first then comfort.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was a doctor turned preacher who was a master spiritual diagnostician. Of persons who seek the joy without the proper prerequisites he said:
Indeed the real trouble with the miserable Christian is that he has never been truly made miserable because of conviction of sin. He has by-passed the essential preliminary to joy, he has been assuming something that he has no right to assume.
Too often we want the comfort. We put off the surgery, deluding ourselves that the pain and scars are not there, or at least not that serious. “They can wait, its not that bad yet.” Sin is a toxic cancer that first deadens our perception; the wounds are always deeper than we think. “I’m getting better, progressing, feeling stronger – I will be on top soon,” we say to ourselves. The sickness grows.
Only a miracle of grace can awaken us from the deadly sleep of sin. God offers a covenant of comfort. He speaks tenderly. He pardons. The payment for our surgery has been paid, with an all sufficient currency. The most precious commodity in the universe, the blood of Christ is the ransom and the remedy; it both buys and cleans.
The Great Physician is always on call.
No Other Boast 