An Unglorified Anniversary

This month is a personal anniversary of sorts. Ten years ago, in May 2004, I was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma and had my left cancerous kidney removed, along with a couple of cancer positive lymph nodes. Four and a half years later, I had 2 more cancer positive lymph nodes removed. The survival rate for this level of kidney cancer is poor, so to still be around 10 years later is unusual.

To celebrate, I went to the hospital this morning for one more follow-up visit, probably my last, since a 10-year survival puts my odds of cancer recurrence about near the same as those who never had it. My ultrasound came back clear, no lesions or other abnormalities. My blood chemistry looks good. Cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar are all low. Creatinine as low as it has been in 10 years. All other blood counts are in normal range. I’ve gotten my weight back down to normal and, overall, I’m feeling fine.

This may seem like good news, but it really depends on your perspective. To commemorate Easter last month, I did a little Bible study on our resurrected body, the one Jan is enjoying right now. Paul says that, for those who have the gift of the Holy Spirit in them, God will transform their bodies to be like the resurrected body of Jesus (Phil. 3:21), which is real; the disciples were able to touch it and feel it (Luke 24:39; John 20:25-27). Just as they recognized Jesus (Luke 24:31, 39), so we will recognize each other in heaven, albeit with a glorified body.

The Bible says our eternal body will be incorruptible (1 Cor. 15:42-43, 53). No death, deformity, disease, or pain. It will also be a spiritual body (verse 44), meaning its primary function will be to relate to all that is godly and heavenly, as opposed to our earthly body, whose primary function is to relate to our physical surroundings using our 5 senses. Since, “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 15:50), our Lord’s resurrected body is “flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39), no blood. Evidently, God will give our bodies a new, superior means of sustaining life. My favorite is that our resurrected bodies will have incredible abilities to move around (Luke 24:31; John 20:19; Acts 1:9).

The older I get the more excited I become when I think about my resurrected body. No more aches, wrinkles, pains, sickness, aging, or snap, crackles, and pops. I will have new abilities to move around without worries of stubbing a toe or breaking a bone. From heavens perspective, there is no glory in being a cancer-survivor. Unfortunately, evolutionists and atheists don’t get to enjoy the anticipation of a glorified resurrected body. But for those whose hope is in heaven, it’s a coming reality worth dreaming about. In the meantime, I’ll keep taking my nutrition supplements and see how many more years I can get out of this unglorified body.