Sickness, disease, decay, and death(J. C. Ryle, "Christ in the Sick Room")"Lord, the one You love is sick!" John 11:3Sickness, disease, decay, and death are the common lot of all mankind without exception.The human body is a most frail and complicated machine. From the sole of the foot to the crown of the head, there is not a part of us which is not liable to disease. When I think of the variety of ailments which may assail our bodies, I do not wonder so much that we die at last--as I do that we live so long.But whence comes this liability to sickness, disease, and death? The fall of man at the beginning has brought sin into the world, and sin has brought with it the curse of sickness, suffering, and pain. God sends sickness in order to do us good. It is a friendly letter from heaven. It is a knock at the door of conscience. Happy is he who opens the letter and reads it, who hears the knock and opens the door, who welcomes Christ to the sick room. Regard your sickness as . . . a blessing in disguise, a good and not an evil, a friend and not an enemy.
_________________CHRISTIAN