ted Church
think others have been encouraged that
I have tried to exemplify trust. I’ve never
had a sense that God is going to heal me.
I let people pray for me if they want to.
I’ve been anointed with oil a number
of times and I welcomed that. But deep
down in my heart, I never had a sense I
would be healed. And I don’t consider
that a lack of faith. I felt it was the path
God was calling me to – that I was to
continue to glorify Him by living in an
unchanging situation.
Ks: How is your wife coping?
gp: She’s tired. Sometimes I feel worse for
the caregiver. She ends up having to take
care of some mundane things for me. If I
want a glass of water, I have to ask her to
get me one. That can happen a lot during
the day. I do worry about her.
Ks: Do you think about what heaven
will be like?
gp: I’ve certainly thought about heaven
a whole lot more than I would have ordinarily. There are times I think I’m not
ready to go because I still have things to
do. There are unfinished paths. One of
my great passions in life is working on a
theology of persecution. I wrote a book
on that and so badly wanted to rework
it. I feel I probably won’t have the time
or energy. There’s a disappointment of
things that are unfinished. There are
times when I say “Lord, do I have to
go now?” I’m not dreading heaven. I
look forward to it. Some days I really do
because it’s really hard. I’ve always been
a very purpose-driven person. I’m still
struggling with the sense that I know
heaven is not static – we’re not going to
be sitting there doing nothing.
Ks: Are you thinking you might get
bored?
The voiCe of The Mar Tyrs
gp: If heaven were only sitting around
singing praise choruses, it wouldn’t be
my idea of heaven. I’m not the world’s
greatest singer.
Ks: I see that you have kept your sense of
humour. How important is that?
gp: Yes I have. It goes along in this ministry. You’d be surprised at how much
humour there is, both with persecuted
Christians and those who work alongside them. I always say I miss the old
Soviet Union because they had the best
jokes about Communists. If you study
suffering Christians through history, you
will find there is humour there as well.
Maybe that is what Paul means when he
talks about joy in suffering.
Ks: What is the one message you would
like to give to the Evangelical church in
Canada?
gp: The fact of the reality of suffering
