Saturday 22 June 2013

Matt's letter to FACT



18 months ago today Matthew died from leukaemia. 

We miss Matthew every day but 'We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him ..... For the Lord himself will come down from heaven ...... and the dead in Christ will rise....' extracts from 1 Thessalonians 4:14 & 16

In December 2010, aged 19, Matthew was diagnosed with leukaemia and he was admitted to St Bartholomew's hospital in London. A few weeks later he wrote the following letter to his colleagues at FACT (Fellowship Afloat), the outdoor activity centre where he had been working.

We would like to share his letter with you for your encouragement. Even if you have read it before we would like to ask you to read it again.

David & Gisa (Matt's parents)



Hi everyone,

I thought I'd send you all an email telling you of some of the things I'm learning whilst going through this trial. I consider you all as family and can't wait to be reunited when all this is over.

I'll start from the beginning. When the doctor phoned up on the Wednesday evening and gave me the news of my illness I was shocked but not surprised. For about a week prior to the blood test I had a thought come into my mind that I had cancer. I can't explain it but it was there; so I thought about how I would react if it was true. That pre-warning definitely helped me cope with it. 

Being in the hospital at Bart's was when I really started to think things through. I was suddenly faced with the reality of death. We all know we're going to die at some point but we don't ever think it'll actually happen. If we do then it'll probably be when we're old and in our sleep. We live pretty idealistically. I thought that anyway. So suddenly being faced with reality made me see things through a very different perspective. At first I was scared about dying. I knew in my head about Heaven etc but again the reality of that hadn't sunk in. It's amazing how many things we know in our heads, but when put to the test, we don't really believe. Since then I've done some study on death and Heaven and now I can't wait to go. I would strongly encourage you to find out more about where we're going to spend eternity. It will shape the way you spend your time now, knowing that it will effect your time in Heaven. Now I know the truth in 1 Corinthians 15:54-55 "When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?". Death has lost it's victory over me. I'm not planning on going anytime soon but I'm looking forward to it when it comes! Put yourselves into the shoes of someone on their death bed. How would you cope with death?

Another thing I've learnt is what's important and what's not. 2 Corinthians 4:18 says: So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Money, a nice home, secure job, material things are not important. They're temporary. They wont last. They're not bad in themselves but they shouldn't be what we base our lives around. What we should base our lives around is bringing God glory in everything. 1 Corinthians 10:31 (I seem to like Corinthians) says: So whether you eat, drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. So when you're at university your main purpose is to bring God glory. If you're still at FACT your main job is to bring God glory. Whatever you do that's the job. To love God and to love others. Let that shape your future.

John Piper says something like, 'God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in Him'. He calls it Christian hedonism, and it's something I'm beginning to get. Spending time reading God's word and praying has been completely refreshed. It has a whole new 'feel' to it. I long for those times. They're like breath to me. Become satisfied in Him! There's no better thing! Another thing (I've nearly finished) is that I've noticed that we go through phases in life where different sins become a problem. Things that I struggled with before going into hospital no longer have a grip on me, whereas other things have taken their place. For example, I don't think I ever had a problem with jealousy before, but since getting this illness I easily become jealous of anyone with good health. It's important to recognise sin in our lives and deal with it. It's not nice though.

Ok, finally! If you've got this far then I'm pretty impressed. God is good. Everything He allows is for good. Whatever happens with me is for His glory and for His perfect plan. Never forget that. When things are tough remember that He's always with you in everything and that He loves you and listens to you. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us to ask, seek, and knock. We've all sought God and we've all found Him. We've all knocked and the door's been opened to us. Now we ask and we should expect to receive. Jesus said that a father who's sinful knows how to give his children good things, so God as our perfect heavenly Father knows even better how to give us good things. We've already received infinitely more than we deserve; we've been given a certain hope of a future with God where we'll have perfect bodies, without sin, without suffering. And we have so many things in this life, here on earth, that we are so blessed with.

I've written this mainly for myself to get out what I've been thinking over the last month, so please don't think I've been preaching at you! I've been preaching at myself. I learn so much from each of you and I hope you might learn something of what I'm learning at the moment too.

I end it with this, 1 Corinthians (yup, had to be!) 15:58:

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.

Much love,
Matt