Troublesome TopicWE MUST ALL FOLLOW THE SAME OPERATION MANUAL

From Dr Paul Brand

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I learned that cancer is basically a set of cells that refuse to follow the rules set forth in the DNA. The unanswered questions pertain to why the cells decide to rebel against the rest of the body and not follow the rules. All the cells of the body know the manual because they all have a copy of it and they all follow it.

The spiritual lesson should be obvious: we all need to know the Book well and we need to follow it to the best of our ability, and with reliance on God’s Holy Spirit.

At least one potential reason why cancerous cells disobey the orders of the DNA is that those cells’ parents did not get what they needed (e.g. minerals, nutrition, fluids), or they received something they did not need (e.g. something harmful substance such as harsh chemicals, negative emotional stimuli, a virus, an injury to the nervous system), therefore they were unable to properly reproduce the operation manual (DNA) for the next generation. The generation to follow did not decide one day to disobey the orders simply because they were being capricious or malevolent; they were actually following their operating manual; the problem was that they had been given the wrong operating manual due to problems in the replication of that manual.

The spiritual lessons are as follows:

1. We need to make sure to avoid ingesting the wrong things, things that will damage our spiritual health.

2. We need to be sure to take in all the proper nutrition and support we need in order to be healthy Spiritually. If we do not do these things, we will likely pass on to our children a set of spiritual teaching that we think is correct, but is actually fatally flawed. I understand that we all think slightly differently, and sometimes quite differently about certain things. No two people think alike. There are things that we can agree to disagree on because they are not foundational to our spiritual vitality. But when it comes to the very basics of our relationship with God, those thing cannot be compromised on. A self-proclaimed “Christ-follower” who has not nourished his soul on the word of God as he should and has allowed too much of this world’s influence into the mix, will likely pass on flawed spiritual DNA to his offspring. Thankfully, God can do surgery of the mind and the heart and correct the problems we have caused, but we should still strive to avoid passing on the wrong operating manual.

Footnotes

1

Dr. Brand’s book, In the Likeness of God, co-authored with Philip Yancey, is packed with excellent lessons from science, and peppered with his many stories from his years of service in India.