Sal Mattson's voice booms over the crowd of rushing students, calling for repentance unto salvation, while he also offers his time in personal discipleship. He is a fixture, a staple, and a monument to the cross of Christ at the University of Tennessee. And Sal has cancer.
Sal recently sent his friends an email in which he stated that God gave him cancer so that he could be closer to his family, share his joy-despite the pain-with the lost, and have a more attentive ear to God's word than he ever did while healthy. Sal's understanding, his devotion, his obedience to God comes as a result of suffering, of acceptance, and of faith in a God who trusts Sal enough to use him as a conduit for His love.
It's shameful for me to say this but I don't know if I could be as faithful as Sal in the face of such adversithasmonean time with us on this earth is limited and yet he lives as if he is already in Heaven. He stares sorrow in the face through the tears of his wife and children, and yet he writes with joy about the salvation he proclaims. He is an inspiration and a reminder that to "die is gain but to live is Christ."
One day I hope that the following verse will be shared about me by friends, but for now, it belongs to my good friend, Sal. Acts 20:24 "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me; the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace."
Sal, you "have fought the good fight, [you] have finished the race, [you] have kept the faith" (Timothy 4:7). For all eternity, you will be my eternal friend and brother. Right now, you are my hero.
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