Equipping Members of the Next Generation of Christians to Defend Their Faith and to Embrace a Biblical Worldview, Part 14
I’ve been all the way down to the bottom, and I want you to know—it is solid rock!
—W. Oscar Thompson, devout Christian and seminary professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas in the late 1970s to 1980, explaining succinctly to students what his cancer, the disease that eventually would prematurely take his life, had taught him about His faith and His God—
Key point: Do you wonder if biblical Christianity has substantive answers for the questions life throws at us? Do you wonder if the Christian belief system works in the real world? Listen to the words of Jeremiah Thomas, whose body was laid to rest today, August 31, 2018. He knew Christianity was and is real and applied it to every aspect of his life. Jeremiah lived his life, and faced his death, according to a biblical worldview. He gives us all an example to follow.
You can find links to all the articles in this series here.
If Christianity is real, it will work for anyone who takes it seriously—young or old, male or female, whatever his or her background or ethnicity. Today I want to showcase an example of a young man who lived out the truth of Christianity in his life and who demonstrated the truth of his faith in his death. His Christianity was and is worldview Christianity.
Jeremiah Thomas, the youngest son of Rusty Thomas of Waco, Texas, was a football star who played for the Parkview Christian Academy Pacers and helped his team win a state championship in 2017. Interested in pursuing opportunities in athletics as well as ministry, Jeremiah appeared to have a very bright and upbeat future.
Jeremiah’s Cancer
Yet mere months later, this bright young man, on fire for God, was diagnosed with osteoblastic osteosarcoma, an aggressive form of bone cancer. Jeremiah and his family went to the doctor for what they thought was a football injury, a broken rib. A series of tests, however, sent Jeremiah and his family on a detour they never imagined they’d have to take. They learned the news in late March, 2018.
Despite expensive treatments, Jeremiah’s cancer spread rapidly. Three months after the diagnosis, doctors shared with the family the tough news they knew of nothing else they could do. At a point in his life where Jeremiah Thomas otherwise would have been looking at a future filled with promise and opportunity, he had to face the brutal reality that he likely didn’t have much time left on this earth. Yet, even after his cancer robbed him of his ability to walk, this young warrior for Christ was undaunted. He declared, “Well then, now I’ll just preach from my wheelchair!!”…
And so he did! Relying on His God for strength and a perspective that looks beyond mere earthly realities, Jeremiah has influenced thousands for Christ. He spoke from a platform much larger than he ever could have dreamed of or imagined—and people have paid attention!
Jeremiah’s Wish
The Make-A-Wish Foundation exists to grant young people who have life-threatening medical challenges one wish before they complete their journeys on this earth. While wishes to personally meet a celebrity and to be a guest at Disney World are common and understandable, Jeremiah wasn’t thinking of himself, but others. His wish was that abortion would come to an end in his home state of Texas. Jeremiah comes from a family of pro-life activists; his father Rusty is the National Director of Operation Save America, formerly Operation Rescue. Yet, as we soon will see, Jeremiah’s upbringing wasn’t his core reason for being pro-life. It ran a lot deeper than that!
The Make-A-Wish Foundation couldn’t grant Jeremiah’s request as he had stated it, but it did arrange for him to speak by phone to Texas governor Greg Abbot. During the call, Jeremiah encouraged the governor to support legislation banning abortion completely in Texas.
“Your wish,” Governor Abbot told Jeremiah, “is…what we’re going to be pursuing this next legislative session, to outlaw abortion altogether in the state of Texas. And so your wish is granted.” He also called Jeremiah’s wish “unbelievably selfless.”
A video of the conclusion of Jeremiah’s conversation with Governor Abbot is available here.
News of Jeremiah’s wish spread widely, and many, like the governor, affirmed him. Still, not everyone was pleased. In fact, the teen received a great many messages of hate. Jeremiah did not retaliate. “I pity them,” he said. “To have that much darkness in your heart that you’d want a kid with cancer to die. Makes me wonder what happened to them in their life. It’s a scary place to be—mentally and spiritually. I pray God would have mercy on them.”
Jeremiah’s Letter
Jeremiah Thomas used the platform on which he found himself to write an open letter to his generation. Of his faith in Christ, he stated,
Growing up, I always had one foot in Christ and one foot in the world. I attended church, did Bible study, and ministered with my family but when I was at school or hanging with friends you couldn’t tell that I knew Christ.
It wasn’t until the summer of 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky that I experienced revival. I was baptized along with forty-eight other kids (and some adults). I came home to Waco, Texas on fire for Christ.
Jeremiah went on in his letter to share a tough message with the members of his generation; yet without question, you can tell that love—as well as a bedrock commitment to his faith and his God—undergirded it. I’m quoting a good portion of the letter here, not just because the the actual words of a dying teen deserve to be read and heard as he wrote them, but also because we see “worldview Christianity” in so much of what Jeremiah says. Can you recognize in his letter the elements of the biblical worldview?
I’m quoting a good portion of the letter here, not just because the the actual words of a dying teen deserve to be heard as he wrote them, but also because we see “worldview Christianity” in so much of what Jeremiah says.
After a few months of cancer and a bunch of different treatments, here I am. I’m lying down in bed, typing this letter. I have lost my hair, my ability to walk, fifty pounds of healthy muscle, the sensation in my legs and back, and my football career. But I haven’t lost my faith and hope in God. In fact, my faith in Him has been strengthened. I have grown so much closer to my Savior, knowing full well my life is in His hands. He has been with me every step of the way, guiding me and teaching me.
I’ve learned no matter what you get hit with in life, you sometimes have to lower your shoulder and keep trucking, just like in football. Trust God to keep your feet and sustain you. In less time than it takes to play a full football season, my life has been taken over by cancer. I don’t know how much time I have left on this earth, but with what time I do have, I want it to count for God and my generation. This is my call to my generation, “Leave it all behind and come back home!”
“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).
We have grown up in a culture of death, sexual confusion, immorality and fatherlessness. This culture of death I speak of consists of abortion, homosexuality and suicide. One third of our generation has been wiped out due to abortion. Over 25 million people have died as a result of AIDS. Even without AIDS, the life expectancy of a homosexual man or woman is about 33 years shorter than that of a heterosexual. More young people die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease, combined.
We have been handed a bill of goods that has completely destroyed us. In our nation, we have chosen death and received the curse.
I would like to use a parable of the Prodigal Son to describe our generation. We have taken our Heavenly Father’s blessings and have turned from Him. We’ve squandered our godly heritage and we still haven’t turned back to the Father. How bad does it have to get in order for our generation to wake up and realize that we are a long way from home?
My call to you today is to come back to the Father. Leave behind the darkness, deception and despair. We are a fatherless and lawless generation searching for identity. Meanwhile, our heavenly Father is standing with arms wide open, beckoning to us to return to Him through the good news of the Gospel of the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
If you’re going through depression, there’s hope in Christ. If you’re battling disease, there’s healing in Christ. If you’re contemplating suicide or abortion, there’s abundant life in Christ.
Abortion is more than wrong. It’s an abomination. It’s the murder of an innocent baby. It turns mothers into murderers and men into cowards. Abortion goes against everything God intended. He made men to protect women and children. He made women to love and nurture. So, in conclusion, abortion is more than just a “woman’s issue.” It’s an act of murder that should be penalized by law. It is our generation’s duty to rise up and abolish abortion.
It’s time to wake up and stand against the evil in our day. There’s a battle to fight and souls to save. Everybody else is joining in the confusion and chaos that is ruining our nation. They are literally killing themselves and others trying to prove that they are right. True rebellion is going against the flow of what everybody else is doing.
True rebellion is going against the flow of what everybody else is doing.
—Jeremiah Thomas—
Finally, to the liberal student activists who think they are fighting “the establishment” on college campuses—you are the establishment! Your professors are liberal. Your parents are probably liberal. Your friends are liberal. The music you listen to is liberal. Hollywood is liberal so the movies you watch are liberal.
Who or what are you truly rebelling against?
To the college kids who complain that they can’t trust our government—you’re doing everything in your power to make it bigger. The government is taking away our natural, God given rights. You’re making the problem worse. This is insanity.
If you want to be a rebel on college campuses fight for freedom! Stir the status quote [sic], don’t go along with it. True examples of counter culture are the Christians who fight against abortion. They’re actually fighting to end the grave evil in our day.
True examples of counter culture are the Christians who fight against abortion. They’re actually fighting to end the grave evil in our day.
—Jeremiah Thomas—
Look at history. Over one hundred million people have been murdered under the ideologies of Democratic Socialism and Communism. When we forget our history, history will always repeat itself. That’s why one third of our generation has been wiped out by abortion. That’s why our rights our slowly being ripped out of our Constitution. That’s why the establishment is evil.
It’s time for my generation to wake up. It is time leave our sin, unbelief, rebellion, and lust behind. Let’s make a journey of saving faith back to the Father’s House. It is there and there only that we will find light, love, and life through Jesus Christ our Lord!
It is my sincere prayer that you who read this will take my words to heart, change your mind, and be reconciled to the Lord through the merits of Jesus Christ. May God’s Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven in Jesus’ name!
Penned and published by Jeremiah Thomas 6/24/2018
Jeremiah Thomas left this life and entered heaven on Sunday, August 26, 2018. His body was laid to rest today—Friday, August 31.
His legacy, however, will remain, and his impact will be felt for years to come.
Sometimes People Are Overwhelmed
Against the backdrop of Jeremiah’s story, we must admit that sadly, not everyone who embraces Christianity is able to deal with the difficulties life throws at them. One pastor tragically ended his own life after experiencing serious bouts of depression and anxiety over a period of months. Yet this situation and others like it do not prove Christianity to be a weak foundation on which to build one’s life. They merely demonstrate that humans are imperfect and weak, that sicknesses and diseases occur, and that evil and tragedy at times will appear to have the upper hand.
Despite all of this, we consistently see in Christianity and in the biblical worldview a belief system that is strong, stable, and able to withstand the storms of life.
Moreover, we see that the biblical worldview doesn’t just help us face the end of our lives; it shows us how to live every day!
Christianity works in the real world, because it is part of reality itself!
It is true!
Sincerest, heartfelt sympathy is extended to the family and friends of Jeremiah Thomas. Rusty and Kendra Thomas, you raised a champion! May God be close to you and comfort you in your loss. Thank you for your own example of faithfulness to Christ!
Sincerest, heartfelt sympathy also is extended to the family and friends of Andrew Stoeklein. Andrew’s wife Kayla and their three boys have suffered a devastating loss. Kayla, I pray God will be especially close to you and the boys during these difficult days. The loss you and your church have experienced remind us of our need to pray for our spiritual leaders, to understand them, and to resist expecting perfection from them. It also reminds us that some challenges are complicated and involve more than merely “bringing them to God,” even though bringing our problems to God is an essential part of the healing process. Our prayers are with you.
Copyright © 2018 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.
Visit jeremiahstrong.com.
Top image: YouTube / Luke Cypert
Thank you for your compassion and your retelling of Jeremiah’s story. Rusty said he thought your teaching was one of the best presentations of Jeremiah’s message, testimony, and charge to his generation. Your words blessed us more then you know.
Thank you, Kendra and Rusty! I am so inspired and blessed by Jeremiah’s story—and challenged as well to be more faithful in my own walk with Christ! I so much wish I could have known your son. I pray God’s special blessing on you and your family, and I pray that Jeremiah’s influence will continue to increase in the days, months, and years ahead.
BTW, you didn’t just raise a champion—you’re champions yourselves!
B. Nathaniel Sullivan
Word Foundations
Yes, this wonderful young man has truly given my Christian faith a marvelous plum line to search my heart daily!
Jeremiah taught all of us to be better saints. And to truly have a direct relationship with our Holy Heavenly Father. His conversation and spiritual testimony taught me more than I have learn or hear from an experienced minister. Even from my Bible College. Praise God , By Jesus blood. Amen
Chaplain Rudy Adame.
I was truly inspired by Jeremiah. He has made my walk with God a lot more faithful and true. I wished that I had that chance to meet him before his passing, but he is a warrior of God and finished his race. I inspire the Thomas family to the fullest and Kendra you are a strong women of God and Rusty you are also a strong man of God. I will continue to pray and follow you.