Tonight John was reading a Georgia magazine. He was really quiet and intense as he read. I looked at him and kind of chuckled because John’s not a “reader” in the sense that he doesn’t like to read books, but he sure was into that magazine about the Bulldogs. He said to me, “This is speaking right to me, and I’m serious.” After he finished reading it he handed it to me. By the end of me reading it I was crying.
This is a perfect example of the hope we have in the Lord when we face trials. This young man, Justin John, saw his life through the eyes of the Lord, and he surrendered to that life God had given him with the understanding that it was for one purpose and one purpose only – to glorify Him. Through glorifying his Father, others saw Jesus through Justin John. And others came to know Him.
It is hard to wrap our minds around the fact that God is not primarily concerned with our happiness. He is primarily concerned with our relationship with Him. Because He loves us so much He doesn’t keep us in our perfect, painless, lives full of gratification and happiness. Instead He takes us far away from them so that we can grow, become stronger, and transform into the disciples He has called us to be. God knows the perfect way to do that, and sometimes it comes in a form of unrelentless emotional and physical pain. Our hope is not in the things of this world, but in our eternal life in heaven. “Because I am righteous, I will see you. When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied.” Psalm 17:15 “Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.” Psalm 73:25 Justin John understood this truth and lived it so that others could learn it too.
Tonight is a hard night for John. He is tired, uncomfortable, and in some pain. I thank God for speaking him tonight through this story. My prayer is that we can see our lives and our situation like Justin John saw his – through the eyes of Christ – and that He will constantly be glorified through it. I pray that people will hear our story, experience it with us, and come to know their Heavenly Father who loves them so much and is just reaching out for them to come to Him.
“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:10-11
Justin John: A Legacy of Faith and Determination
Former Georgia linebacker Rennie Curran, who was a third-round pick of the Tennessee Titans in 2010, wore a “PUSH” bracelet after meeting Justin in 2009. (Icon SMI)
By Lyn Scarbrough
Justin John’s leg had been giving him trouble.
“He had pain after workouts,” recalled Stephen John, a sports ticket marketer whose 17-year old son was looking forward to his high school senior basketball season. “We thought it was growing pains, so we bought a knee brace.”
Justin, an all-state baseball player, was also a mentor on Wednesday evenings at Hebron Baptist Church in Dacula, Ga. On a September night in 2005, a simple collision there changed everything for the John family.
“A sixth grade kid ran into Justin’s knee,” Stephen said. “The pain was so bad, Justin cried. He said, ‘I tore my knee.’ The next day he had X-rays and they showed a spot. Two days later, we saw an orthopedic surgeon.”
Results were much worse than growing pains or a torn knee.
It was osteosarcoma — a malignant bone tumor, which occurs most often in young people. About 400 children in the United
States are affected each year, with more than half knee-related.
Treatment started quickly. First, 12 rounds of chemotherapy shrunk the tumor. Then, during the Christmas holiday season, surgery removed it.
“The doctors thought they got it all, but they wanted to do more,” explained Jane John, mother of Justin and his two siblings, Andrew and Megan. “They got the tumor itself, but it was not totally dead. So, they ordered 18 more rounds of chemo.”
People who knew Justin were not surprised at his reaction.
“His attitude was top notch,” Stephen said. “For the first nine months, he was on crutches. They wanted him to use a wheelchair, but he wouldn’t do it.”
A year passed and tests were cancer free. Doctors were able to take out the port that had carried Justin’s chemo medicine.
“We thought we beat it,” Jane remembered. But, a month later, the cancer was found in both of his lungs. The next two years saw seven surgeries, more chemotherapy, and meetings with specialists.
Dr. Thomas Olson, an oncologist at AFLAC Cancer Center at Egleston Hospital in Atlanta was one of Justin’s primary physicians. He received a call from Fox 5 Television.
“They wanted to follow somebody through the cancer experience,” Jane said. “Dr. Olson told them, ‘I have the perfect person, Justin John.’ The series was titled, ‘Justin’s Journey.’
“Little children would see Justin and say, ‘I know you. I saw you on TV.’”
One incident sticks out to Stephen and Jane.
“A cameraman was upset that Justin quoted Scripture during the segment and said that his disease happened for a reason,”
Stephen recalled. “He told Justin, ‘You have cancer. Give one good reason for that.’ Justin gave a quick answer — ‘I can get on national television and tell about my faith. You can’t go wrong by trusting God.’”
In addition to God and family, Justin had several other passions. Two of the biggest were sports and his beloved Georgia Bulldogs.
“Justin started playing tee-ball at 5-years old,” Stephen said. “The first thing that he said after ‘Momma’ and ‘Daddy’ was ‘Go Dawgs!’”
As he grew older, he became an avid Georgia fan, decorating his room to look like Bulldog headquarters.
Georgia head football coach Mark Richt found out about Justin’s cancer during early treatment and sent personal letters.
“I just want you to try to stay focused on the end result,” Richt said in one of the letters. “Just remember that going through this will only make you a stronger and a more mature man, but you will need to rely on the Lord, your family and your friends to help you through it.”
Despite the pain and the disappointments, there could not have been a better role model than Justin. But, late in 2009, doctors gave bad news to the John family. There was nothing else that could be done medically. Justin’s fight couldn’t last much longer.
Christian friends from Hebron Baptist were there.
“They were there 24 hours a day,” Jane said. “They brought meals every day for three months. Close friends, pastors could call any time. Justin would wake up during the night in pain and ask us to call close friends right then for prayer.”
Two Georgia football players provided special support. Linebacker Rennie Curran visited Justin at home before the Independence Bowl game with Texas A&M.
“Meeting Justin was a great experience,” Curran said. “He was so positive and told me how much he loved the Bulldogs. We laughed and enjoyed the time together.”
Justin gave Curran one of his “PUSH” bracelets, standing for “Pray Until Something Happens.” Curran wore the bracelet during the game, but made another promise.
“I told him that when I made my first big play, I would give a sign on television to let him know that I was thinking about him,” he said. “On about the third play, their wide receiver caught a short pass and I blasted him and threw up the sign.”
The John family was watching, saw Curran wearing the bracelet and saw the sign.
“The family told me they saw it and were in tears,” Curran said. “I’ve kept wearing the bracelet every day since the game.”
Another Bulldog, former quarterback David Greene, visited in early January.
“The thing that amazed me most was how strong and spirited he seemed to be,” he recalled. “I expected to see a frail and
exhausted kid, but during two hours there, I almost forgot that he was sick.
“A kid this young and full of life taken over by cancer is hard to accept. It’s important to lean on scriptures like Proverbs 3:5-6.”
Justin John died on February 19, 2010, a little over three weeks after his 22nd birthday. The funeral drew over 3,500 people to visitation that lasted from 6 p.m. until midnight.
“At the service, a young man came up to me crying,” Stephen said. “He asked if I was Justin’s father. He told me that he had become a Christian due to Justin’s example and that he was being baptized the next Sunday.”
That would have brought joy to Justin, who had chosen those verses in Proverbs as his watchword:
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5
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