My friend was dying. I knew that. But he wasn't going to give up. After a terminal diagnosis of full-blown AIDs, Joe sought out every option he could find. It was not only for himself - his wife was pregnant with her third child. Miraculously, neither she nor her future son were HIV-positive.
One of the last times I spoke with Joe, he was hopeful that a 'healing service' would be his deliverance. The last time I saw Joe, at an event he planned to say goodbye to all his friends (and he had many), he looked weak. A few months later his wife called to tell me he had died.
Did God let Joe and his family down? Had he not reached his hand out to touch Jesus' cloak and be healed? I remember the day, about sixteen years earlier, when Joe stepped forward in church to receive Jesus Christ and be baptized. AIDs might have taken his body, but Joe had eternal life long before he was a husband and father. Joe had touched the edge of the Lord's cloak and was thereafter immune to death. The healing he sought, he already had, and when his wife called with the news of his death I recounted to her the day he stepped forward in faith years before they had met.
Will you join Joe - and all those who believe in the healing power of Jesus Christ - and touch His cloak today?
Closing comment: Our bodies are temporary, but our souls are eternal. The time we spend on earth is but a breath compared to an eternity that has no end. We only understand what we can experience with our five limited senses. As a result, our physical health and comfort are our primary concerns - and our soul is neglected if acknowledged at all. If we could concern ourselves with the health of our souls as much as we do for our bodies we would have no fear of death and could move confidently through this life no matter how long or how short.