Mr. and Mrs. Daley and their children were travelling home from a vacation in Thailand. They were flying on Singapore Airlines to their home in Melbourne, Australia. It was a seven-hour flight. When it came time for food to be served, the Daleys asked for a nut-free meal, because their son was severely allergic to peanuts. He was given a special meal, but hundreds of other people on the plane were served peanuts with their meals or as a snack.
When hundreds of people on the plane opened their packages of peanuts, the air was soon filled with the dust and smell of peanuts. All of these tiny fragments of peanuts going up into the air can make people with allergies to peanuts very sick! Within a few minutes, 3-year-old Marcus said, “I don’t feel good.” Then he became severely ill. His father said that “he started vomiting, his eyes were starting to swell, and he couldn’t talk properly.” Thankfully, Mr. Daley was a doctor who specialized in respiratory conditions. They had come prepared with anti-allergy medication and were also carrying four EpiPens filled with adrenaline. After using one EpiPen and another medication, Marcus was soon feeling better.
The flight attendants also did their best to help Marcus. They collected all of the peanut packages from the people surrounding the family and did not serve any more peanuts during the flight.
Food allergies are a serious problem to have and should not be ignored or taken lightly. A doctor who specialized in food allergies said, “Food allergies can develop suddenly with no prior warning, especially with milk, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and eggs.” If a person does not receive treatment in time, an allergy attack can be deadly. EpiPens are filled with adrenaline, and when they are injected into the thigh, it opens a person’s airway in the throat, allowing them to breathe comfortably. Many lives have been saved because of this life-giving medication.
Have you ever wondered why there is so much sickness, pain and suffering in this world that we live in? It is because of sin and man’s turning against God. When God created Adam and Eve and placed them into a beautiful garden, He told them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It was the only thing they were told not to do! But Adam and Eve listened to Satan and ate of the forbidden fruit anyway. Their disobeying God made them sinners with a sinful nature. Every boy and girl born into this world has inherited this sinful nature. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)). Sickness, disease and sorrow are the result of man’s sinful disobedience towards God.
Just as there is a cure for an allergy attack to nuts, there is also a cure for our sins. When Adam and Eve sinned, they lost their place in the Garden of Eden. Because God is holy and pure and just, He cannot allow sin in His presence. How could sinful boys and girls, men and women be saved? God knew that we were helpless sinners, so He sent His holy, spotless, perfect Son to die on the cross for our sins. Because the Lord Jesus’ work on the cross was perfect and complete, God raised Him from the dead on the third day. “I declare unto you the gospel ... by which also ye are saved ... how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1-41Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: (1 Corinthians 15:1‑4)).
As serious as a food allergy is, our sinful condition before a holy God is even more serious. If we do not trust God to forgive our sins for Jesus’ sake, we cannot go to live with Him in heaven when we die. This is why Jesus says, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:3737All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)). When you come to Him, your salvation is settled and secure. “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand” (John 10:2828And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:28)).
The Dayleys were prepared and knew what to do when Marcus became very sick. But not everyone is prepared, and some people don’t even know that they are allergic to nuts until they have a sudden allergic reaction. This is what happened to one family returning to New York from a vacation in Aruba. Ten-year-old Luca ate just one cashew nut and became very sick. Fifteen minutes after eating the cashew, he complained of stomach and chest pain and was having difficulty breathing. The stewardess quickly asked the passengers if there was a doctor or nurse on board. Fortunately, there was a nurse on the plane who was willing to help and knew what to do. Two teenage girls gave up their EpiPens for a life-saving injection of adrenaline for Luca. The first one didn’t work because it was defective, but the second one worked. The nurse then took care of Luca until they landed. Thanks to the quick-thinking stewardess and the kindness of strangers, Luca made a recovery.
The sacrifice that the two teenage girls made was greater than you might think. What if they had suffered a severe allergy attack themselves and needed their EpiPens? Giving up their pens was really a life-threatening sacrifice, but they did not think of themselves. They only saw a young boy in need and did what they could to help him. But the Lord Jesus did give up His life for us. He knew that that was the only way to save us from our sins. Just as the nurse knew what to do to help Luca, the Lord Jesus, who is the Great Physician, is the only one who can heal us from our sinful condition. What is His treatment? Not an EpiPen! It’s His precious blood! “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)).
ML-10/07/2018