Tony Snow and Joy in Sickness

Tony Snow, Fox newscaster and former White House Press Secretary, died of colon cancer a few days ago. He was 53. He was a popular man in an arena where few men were.
Cal Thomas said of Snow, "Tony was transformed into a serious Christian, not only by reading the Bible and devotional books, but also applying the example of Jesus in his relationship with others."There was something about his manner, his demeanor that drew people to him.

President Bush called him "a man of character."
A committed Christian, his perspective on sickness and death is clearly biblical. At a Washington dinner last year he talked about his struggle with cancer. He said, "You have to learn something that is very hard in the modern era, and that is you have to give yourself to God, to surrender."
As to death he said, "When you die, you graduate. I don't worry about death. Sickness teaches there is joy in everything. Take joy in your sickness because a lot of times God is telling you: You may not know it, but you're more blessed than you realized." (Cal Thomas, Townhall.com, July 15)

His perspective sounds pretty biblical to me. James says, "Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations."(1:2)

Ron