A Burning Bush: How Cancer Worked in the Life of a Believer

Christine Hanus tells the story of her father-in-law’s terminal cancer diagnosis and how a life lived for Christ is powerful and purgative. 

Cancer is clearly a modern-day scourge, and almost everyone has been deeply affected by this heinous disease in one way or another. On a personal note, my father passed away from pancreatic cancer many years ago, and my mother is a breast cancer survivor.   

While those of us who follow Christ see cancer as yet another reminder that the earth is not our true home, it is nevertheless a painful and bewildering reality which can shake our faith. But Jesus teaches us how all the sufferings of this life can be gloriously redeemed — even cancer. When my father-in law was diagnosed with terminal cancer 10 years ago, God showed me a beautiful analogy about how cancer is meant to work in the lives of believers.  

A godly man  

My husband’s parents were remarkable people. During the twenty years prior to Dad’s death, he and his wife traveled the U.S. in a motorhome, serving others and sharing the gospel message. With no savings and no regular source of income, they completely relied on the Lord to meet their daily needs.   

When my husband and I invited my in-laws to come live with us after Dad’s diagnosis, they accepted, and we readied our house to receive my husband’s parents. During this time, I had the recurring image of Dad as the burning bush who, “though on fire, was not consumed” (see Exodus 3:2-5). I even drew a picture of a burning bush to hang on the wall of his room alongside my children’s artwork.

The analogy made sense because God spoke to Moses though the burning bush about His love for His people who were in bondage. I had witnessed how my father-in-law was used by God to speak the truth of His love to a world that was enslaved to sin. Dad had already been set on fire with God’s love. Now my father-in-law’s illness would begin an even deeper purgation of his soul. As cancer was in one sense destroying him, it could not destroy his soul (see Matthew 10:28). 

My husband’s parents came to live with us, and it was soon clear that my father-in-law was wasting away from his disease. Still, he retained his personality and his mind was clear. He was patient, kind to all of us, and prayerful. He often thanked God aloud. One time, when he was trying to climb into our SUV, he said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

He prayed to be completely healed, but said he was looking forward to whatever God had in store for him. He even kept his sense of humor! One day, Hospice had brought him a hospital bed and when he was laying in it for the first time, the lower part of his leg slid off the bed. My husband moved the leg gently back onto the bed saying, “I’ll put up the railing, Dad, which should prevent that from happening again.”   

“How do you know I wasn’t trying to get away?” my father-in-law protested gently.  

Over the course of these weeks, several incidents took place that brought the theme of the burning bush to the forefront of my mind. For example, when we gathered around Dad’s bed for the anointing of the sick, two days before he passed, my feet started feeling strangely restricted in my sneakers which, due to foot problems, I wear almost constantly. I quietly took them off. After doing so, I remembered the command found in Genesis when Moses was approaching the burning bush. He was told to remove his sandals because the ground was holy. Now, the sick room was holy ground.  

God’s love was burning in our home  

On the day my father-in-law died, our family was keeping vigil in his room. We knew he was hovering at the edge of this earthly life. As we waited, we prayed. Without warning, the words, “Take off your shoes, this is holy ground,” flashed into my mind. The moment I removed my shoes there was a knock at our front door. An extraordinary minister of Holy Communion had brought the Blessed Sacrament to our home. God’s love was burning in our home in mighty ways.  

Dad passed away that evening as my husband prayed the last words of the Divine Mercy Chaplet. “Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”  

Jesus told his disciples how to find life eternal: “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me" (cf. Matthew 16:24). Whether it is cancer or another devastating and frightening thing we face, the analogy of the burning bush can offer us light, warmth, and solace. Our lives, like my father-in-law’s, can be used by God to pour out His mercy on the world as we follow in the footsteps of the Master. The process of giving our lives completely to Him will sometimes burn, but we will not be harmed. On the contrary, we will be purified, and we will be prepared to see God face-to-face.  

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Copyright 2024 Christine Hanus
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