Gastroenteritis (Stomach Flu)

Just very recently, I got over a stomach bug that has been going around.  First of all, I want to thank God for this bug.  It wasn't the norovirus, which has also been going around, and takes a long time to get over.  I thank Him that I had a much more standard variety of Gastroenteritis, the gory details of which I'll simply leave to those of you who even want to imagine such a thing.

Even while miserably unable to move, in pain, and generally feeling icky (that's the technical term) God was teaching me a lesson about His love.  For, you see, no matter how terrible I got to feeling, I also got to feeling better.  In this case it really didn't even take very long, at least considering how bad it could have been... cough... norovirus... cough.

It taught me another lesson, as well.  Bugs like this are most easily transmitted due to more direct contact with people.  In the winter time, we spend more time indoors, so we spend more time in close physical proximity to others, and in turn in close proximity with communicable illnesses.  But, God wants us to spend time with people.  He wants His family to spend time together, get to know each other, and learn about each other in Faith.  Illness is simply a common setback, but certainly not one too big for God.  We should do our best to keep our hands clean, though - so that we don't get other people sick.

It's a fitting metaphor for evil or sin.  We should always do our best not to spread evil to others, even unknowingly, by committing sin (or, getting them sick).  We can get others sick by sharing our disease (our human nature to sin) so we need to do our best to keep our hands clean (washed in the blood of Jesus).

Thank God for lessons like this one.  And, thank God for healing my body so that I can reflect on it properly.

Remember, and Pray

Our nation experienced a great loss of life today, at the hands of evil.  However, the man who shot all of those people, while apparently misguided by the whispers and cries of Satan, there's no way that we can know what was in his heart.  He committed a heinous act, of this nobody disagrees.  However, the action of a man cannot, in any way, overshadow the work that God was doing in the moment, and will continue to do after.  I pray that the people directly affected find peace in their hearts, and find healing in Him.  I pray that the family of the shooter finds a way towards the peace of God, and I pray for the soul of the shooter.  For, the shooter lost his way, and Satan had a firm grasp on his soul.

God, please help these people find you in the moments that follow, for without you, surely we would all be lost.  Amen.

An Empty Freezer

My always-practical mother-in-law bought us a large chest freezer for Christmas this year.  I've wanted one for quite some time, so I'm glad that she did.  However, it struck me as a fitting metaphor for my relationship with God and Christ.  For, you see, right now the freezer is completely empty (my relationship isn't, I'll get to that in a minute).  It's turned on, waiting for frozen things to fill it, but for now, it's just a box full of cold air.

This is much like God's love for us. No, not cold and empty, though I could see how it might seem I was going in that direction.  No, his love is always available and waiting, ready for us to accept it as we become more like Christ.  As we fill our God-Freezer with love, the God-Freezer has more and more of its purpose fulfilled.  An empty freezer represents to me an empty relationship, or a complete lack of one, with God.  It has no real purpose, and it's impractical to keep it plugged in.  However, begin filling that freezer with food to preserve, and suddenly its purpose becomes obvious and very practical.  This is much like our lives in respect to God.  Empty of God, we wander without purpose.  Filled with God, and our purpose is obvious.  God is always plugged in, waiting for your heart and mind to fill His purpose.

One reason I think a freezer is a good metaphor, sometimes we take food out of the freezer to eat it. Taken as a metaphor, this is our sin.  Jesus died on the cross to give us the currency we need to buy more food to put back in the freezer.  For, all of the supermarkets of Grace were closed before Jesus died for us.  Now, all we have to do is truly desire forgiveness and seek it appropriately, and our God-freezers will be filled to the brim with nourishment again.  Surely, it won't always stay full, but we should always strive to keep it as filled as possible.

My own personal God-freezer isn't likely full right now.  I hope it's pretty close to full, but I'm also human, so I know I'm selfish, easily distracted, and otherwise not someone that's an obvious choice for elevation to saint-hood.  Even people like Mother Theresa probably had times where their God-freezer wasn't full, but I imagine hers was close to full much more often than mine tends to be.

I pray that God will help me find my way to filling up my freezer (the metaphorical one, not the literal one) and into his Kingdom.  It seems fitting, after all, since winter has arrived around here (mostly). Amen.

Responsible Grandchild

Me with Grandpa and Grandma

I have the privilege to have a living grandfather.  While a "young" member of the greatest generation, I think he still qualifies as a member of such.  I respect and revere the man, and love every chance I get to spend time with him.  He has a wonderful clean sense of humor.  He always has a story to tell that lightens the heart.  And he always seems to be smiling, no matter what.

My sister started writing letters (yes, snail mail) to him a while ago, and has told me a little about the content of said letters.  It's inspired me to start doing the same thing.  For, while he's still young at heart, he has a great-grandchild (my child) so he is not physically young.  The time will come much too soon for my mortal heart that God will call him home.  I'm sure he will go willingly, for God called his wife home many years ago, and to this day still speaks of her with more love and fondness than I've seen in some living marriages.

I don't know what will come of our letter conversations.  I expect I'll learn some things about my family that will excite me and surprise me.  I'm sure I'll learn some of the more personal stories of American history.  But, most of all, I'll learn as an adult the kind of man that I can grow into being someday.  While he's far from perfect (just ask his children) he certainly gives me something to aspire to in terms of my character.

Pray for me as I embark on this journey.  I have no idea what to write to him, honestly, because I've only ever known him as Grandpa, and never really thought of him in grown up terms until recently.  I'm sure the pen-pal relationship will be a great one, as I'm sure God brought the idea to me in the first place.

Responsible Parenting

God blessed me with a wonderful child, thus making me into a father.  God represents the ultimate in parenting, as He is The Father.  Therefore, I think one of the best ways I can learn to become more responsible as a Christian, ultimately becoming more Godly, is to become a better father.  I've come to find that the most direct and simple way to do this is simply by being there with my child.  During normal waking hours, we partake in normal routine activities together.  I cook, the kid watches (or pretends to cook too).  The kid colors in a coloring book or on an easel, I spend time sharpening the drawing skills God gave me.

I think this provides me with regular and important opportunities to remember that parenting is a form of worship.  Since God so loves spending time with His children, by reflecting that in time spent with my own child, I feel more closely connected to God's presence.  I realize that the joy that He experiences watching me grow up as a Christian greatly dwarfs the joy I experience watching my child grow into adulthood.  But, in terms of our faith, we all have some growing up to do.  And, with a little help from our Father, I think all Christians can grow into responsible and strong stewards of His shaping.

I love spending time with my child.  It provides me great joy, wonderful laughter, and an intimacy that can only be experienced between a parent and a child.  The kind of love my child gives me comes about as close to God's true love as I can imagine.  It's unconditional, it's raw, it's powerful, and it's always there.  My child constantly wants more of my time (if only I had more to give), and so does God.

While I work on becoming a more responsible father, so too am I working on becoming a more responsible Christian.  By modelling my fathering after The Father, as best I can, I can be assured that I'm doing the best I can to raise a well adjusted child.  God bless all of the fathers of the world, and help them to care as much as You do. Amen.

Kids Without God

I imagine God shed a few
tears seeing this created

I was reading the blog of a fellow believer here: Taylor, Made for Him which pointed out to me the existence of this website: Kids Without God.  This website promotes atheism to children.  While I worry about the youth of this country, and what would drive them to such a life, I want to echo a point.  As believers of God, we are not afraid of atheists.  We pray for them, and we hope for them.  While Dr. Taylor finds this website intolerable, I like to think of it more as a telling reflection of our society today.  While I cannot bear a life without teaching His way to my child, I also know that He knows all about the people who are not His followers.

The website talks about parents of atheist children being afraid of Hell and Damnation for their children.  While I think this is correct, to a certain degree, I do not agree that it is fear that drives faith, neither does Dr.  Taylor.  While I do worry for children that turn away from God, it's not because I am afraid of what God is going to do to them.  I am afraid for all of the Joy they do not know, and the love they have given up. God loves each and every one of us so much, that he gave us a free spirit to express our beliefs in ways that make Him proud.  I know the joy of parenthood, and each child of God, when created, probably brought Him joy unlike any I've ever experienced.  For each child that turns away from Him, I imagine the amount of sorrow He experiences would be enough to crush a human soul.  If my child were to ever turn away from me, no longer trusting in or believing in me, I would be devastated.  Stories abound in the bible of those who turned away from God.  And, in the end, some became believers, and others lived an incomplete and unfulfilled life.

I don't know what will become of the atheist movement in this country.  I hope that as believers, we can help to direct the unfaithful back into a life of His servitude, but some are so convinced of a reality without Him, they cling to that reality vehemently.  While I don't think Christians should bear to hear the name of God blasphemed, I also don't think we can simply respond in kind with angry words and harsh retorts.  If we really want the atheist community to understand the grace of God, we have to love them. Hard, and completely.  We have to show them why we love God so much, because he loves us so much.  He still loves them too.  It's like a bumper sticker I once saw, "God loves you, whether you like it or not."

So, God Bless the atheists.  May the strongest non-believers find their way home, for once they do, they too can help others to understand the glory of Our Father. Amen.

Darkness, or Light?

While I intend on spending my writing and devotional time thinking about being a more responsible servant of God, He gave me a message this morning that I feel inspired to share.  I was sleeping on the couch in an upright position with my daughter, because it soothes her coughing.  As I woke up with the sunrise, in the kitchen I saw a couple of objects belonging to someone close to me (not my wife), which I assumed were something completely different than they actually turned out to be.

I saw these objects in the dim light of the rising sun.  Veiled in the darkness, I made an assumption about them that made me concerned and confused.  Because I couldn't see them clearly, I thought they were something completly different than they turned out to be, and the things I thought they were carried a negative connotation with them, or at least one to raise alert in my mind.

However, the objects themselves turned out to be completely innocuous.  So, the message that God sent to me had nothing to do with what was actually on the kitchen table, but instead about the way I make assumptions about people.  I was dead wrong with what I assumed, because I assumed it based on an idea veiled in darkness.  When I finally saw the truth, and in the light, everything was revealed as just fine.

So, God was asking me a very important question.  One that I'm going to have to spend way more time considering, for sure.  Am I seeing life veiled in Darkness, or Revealed in Light?

He was also asking me another important question.  How do I make assumptions about people, and what right do I have to judge anything based on those assumptions?

Though this person isn't even awake yet, I'm going to have to ask for forgiveness for what I assumed.  I could say nothing, but that's not the way Jesus would teach us to interact with others.  Open sharing is the only way to strengthen an important bond.