Archive for the ‘Youth’ category
December 20, 2013
WORDS FROM W.W. December 20, 2013
The five young boys started their stroll down the center aisle of the church’s sanctuary. They carried gifts made out of plastic and cardboard, but painted to look like expensive presents from Dilliard’s. Boys have a tendency to drop things. Better to have a plastic container painted gold than a gold container containing something fragile.
There were five of them, each wearing a decorative hat or head wrap to convey their roles as the three wise men…plus two!
It wasn’t necessarily the plan! The program called for three boys dressed up to be like the “We Three Kings!”
“We Five Kings” or “Us Bunch of Kings” just didn’t quite have the same ring to it. Nevertheless, there were five of them marching down the aisle in all their glory.
Magi #4 and Magi #5 had shown up for the first time that morning…and been invited to carry some fragile-looking cardboard containers to the manger scene. They were a little apprehensive.
“We haven’t practiced.”
One of the other wise boys asked the question: “Can you walk and chew gum at the same time?” He got two cautious nods. “Then you qualify! Just follow us and we’ll lead you to the right spot.”
“After all,” added Wise Boy #2, “the Magi followed a star! They didn’t really practice either, and they made it okay!”
The first wise boy took Magi #4’s hand and said “It will be fun!” He tugged a little bit to get him to follow.
The two additional characters had come to church that morning with their mom and dad who had just become homeless. A world of confusion and closed doors had greeted their parents as they tried to keep the family together, safe, and fed. The journey to the sanctuary manger scene that morning has been preceded by visits to filled homless shelters, tapped-out agencies, and declined appeals.
Christmas looked dark.
Mom and Dad and their two boys carried all their possessions in two suitcases and four backpacks, and they walked from one place to the next. Desperation was starting to seep in to their minds. Fears about survival were becoming constant.
And then the parents met someone who said, “Let me see if I can help you!” A roof over their heads, food in their hands, and an invitation to come to church. The genuineness of the helper convinced them that this was not a superficial offer, but was undergirded with concern for their well-being.
And so they had come. Someone had picked them up and brought them…and soon after the wise boys had multiplied by sixty-seven percent.
After the program as the five boys stood around munching cookies and not worrying about crumbs on the carpet, Wise Boy #1 said, “Hey! I wonder if this is how it happened in the original Christmas story? Do you think the wise men picked up people on the way and invited them to join them?”
Wise Boy #2 responded, “It doesn’t seem right that they wouldn’t have. Why keep good news a secret?”
Categories: Bible, children, Christianity, Christmas, Grace, Humor, Jesus, Parenting, Pastor, Story, Teamwork, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: Children's Christmas play, Children's Christmas story, help, Magi, manger, needy, We Three Kings, Wise men
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December 20, 2013
Expectations.
When I’ve heard someone ask the question “What do you expect?” it has conveyed one of two opposite extremes.
I’ve heard it asked mockingly, referring to the lack of intelligence or ability in another person. A college student flunks a math class, and his father says to his mother, “What do you expect?” In other words, the parent had no expectations of his child for any kind of success. Sad as it is, the failure is almost hoped for by the cynical dad.
Expectations can be extinguished by past experience. It is easy to predestine personal failure because someone believes it would be out of character for him to rise above mediocrity.
But there’s another way to ask “What do you expect?”, and it is in a way that elevates, dreams, thinks of new possibilities.
Ask a class of first-graders what they want to be when they grow up and there will be lofty pictures and occupations. First-graders want to be President, or doctors, or olympic athletes, or zoologists (Okay! Maybe they just say “someone who takes care of the giraffes!”) , or Air Force pilots . Their expectations are still mountain-top like!
The story of the shepherds out in the fields taking care of their flocks as the Christ-child is being birthed is a picture of people who were raised out of their mediocrity. Shepherds usually resigned themselves to a life of mundane sheep-watching and protection. And now here is a group of sheep-herders who are pulled into the incarnation event.
No one had ever asked themselves about expectations. They hadn’t been included in such lofty conversations.
We serve a God who asks the question “What do you expect?”
He asks it, however, in ways that seek to have us look for the possibilities?
Categories: Bible, children, Christianity, Christmas, Community, Jesus, Parenting, Pastor, Story, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: aspirations, dreams, expectant, Expectations, first graders, growing up., past experiences, possibilities, shepherds
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December 2, 2013
WORDS FROM W.W. December 2, 2013
“Words from WW” will be doing a series of blog posts during Advent. Please feel free to share then with others.
How would it effect us as parents if we were able to see what our child’s life will be focused on in the future…but we will see it now? How might the hopes of our hearts for our children blossom if someone told us the future impact of the little one that is crawling around on the floor around our feet?
Advent is about hope and promise. When the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah in the temple of the Lord as Zechariah was burning incense and going through the duties of the priest, he shared the future of Zechariah’s son, who had not yet even been conceived.
“Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous- to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:16-17)
It was an angelic proclamation of what was to be. It left Zechariah dumbfounded. He had resolved himself to being a father to no one. His wife was far past the age of childbearing. His future was simply a picture of the two of them growing old together, never enjoying the sounds of infant laughter and conversations of discovery with a child who asked endless questions of “why?”
And then he’s confronted with the news not only of a pregnancy that will start soon, but also of what his offspring will do with his life, the coming again of another Elijah.
Most parents worry about their children. First there is getting them through adolescence and orthodontics; then comes paying for college, followed by the anxiety of finding a job after college. Parents worry that their children will never reach their potential, that the dynamics of out times weigh against twentysomethings.
So, what would it mean for a parent to know that his child will have a life of impact and purpose?
But, in essence, God does have that in his plan! He desires that each one of us live a life of fulfilled promises. Sometimes we just have a hard time believing it.
Categories: Bible, children, Christianity, Christmas, Faith, Jesus, Parenting, Prayer, Story, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: angels, future, Gabriel, hope, Impact, potential, proclamation, promise, Purpose, Zechariah
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October 25, 2013
WORDS FROM W.W. October 25, 2013
I admit it! My prejudice shows as I listen to someone’s laughter. Laughter to me is the telling sign of who a person is. It conveys warmth and character, but to me it also reveals arrogance and a darkened spirit.
There is good laughter and there is evil laughter, sinister snicker if you will. There is laughter that brightens the darkest room and laughter that darkens the brightest room.
I was watching an interview the other night on CNN. Piers Morgan was interviewing Warren Buffett, his son Howard, and grandson Howard W. Buffett. I don’t often sit down and watch an hour-long interview on television, but I found myself enthralled by the whole conversation. A big reason for my interest was the laughter of Warren and his son. Howie has that kind of laugh that reverberates through his whole body to where he looks like a wind-up toy that has been set loose. His laughter involves every body part. His dad, one of the richest men in the world, has a deep laugh that very few would associate with wealth. It’s a light-hearted chuckle that is delightful.
The main reason they were being interviewed was because of Howard’s new book that had just been released, Forty Chances: Finding Hope In A Hungry World. Howard has traveled the world seeking to help remedy the problem that very few people, let alone wealthy people, want to face…world hunger.
I went on-line that night and downloaded a copy of the book for my iPad and have started reading it. It’s very good, but what drew me into making the purchase was the laughter of the author. It was grounded and solid in tone. You can tell he is very serious about the issue, and yet he doesn’t take himself that seriously.
His laughter convinced me. His dad’s laugh seconded it. I one-clicked the purchase.
Some might think I’m really off base here, but laughter tells me more in a moment than an hour long conversation with someone. A laugh makes me like someone or want to leave like I’m being force-fed a spoonful of Castor Oil.
Jesus had a great laugh. Okay, I can’t prove that from scripture, and he certainly wasn’t laughing around the Pharisees and religious types, but gather a flock of kids and I can’t imagine Jesus not laughing. As the late Art Linkletter used to say, “Kids say the darnedest things!”
Laughter tells me that a kid is happy. Laughter at the wrong time tells me of some deeper issues going on. Laughter at another person’s pain is grieving.
I love to laugh. Whenever I see Brandon Bayes (which has been a number of years) one of the first things I will do is mimic the laugh of a man who was a part of the same Holy Land Tour group that we were in. We will laugh at the laugh. The laughter will reconnect us to a week spent together some twenty years ago.
My dad has a great laugh. It resembles Howie Buffett’s. His whole body gets into the act. My brother-in-law, Mike, often slaps his knee as he laughs. He feels comfortable with knee-slapping light-heartedness.
My late Aunt Irene had a great laugh. It kind of came at you like a wind that was building up to a roar and then got released. My late Uncle Bernie was the “he-he” kind of chuckler. Uncle Bernie worked at his church’s food pantry into his nineties and brought a bit of levity into the lives of a number of people who were on the edge of despair. One of my former college professors, the late Ron Richards, had a laugh that warmed up the room. We needed laughter in the midst of Economics class. Economics was one of those classes that could have easily depressed me.
I realize that I’ve used the term “the late” several times in the past couple of paragraphs, but it brightens my day to know that I can remember how so many people who have proceeded on to glory sounded in the humor of life. It makes me chuckle in a pure way.
Categories: children, Christianity, Humor, Jesus, Parenting, Pastor, Story, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: chuckle, CNN, Forty Chances, giggles, happiness, Howard Buffett, humor, laugh, laughing, laughter, lighthearted, lightheartedness, Piers Morgan, snickers, Warren Buffett, world hunger
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October 25, 2013
WORDS FROM W.W. October 25, 2013
Today my dad and I invited a great gentleman named Bill Ball out for lunch. Bill was one of my mentors growing up. Always encouraging with a urging towards perseverance, Bill was a welcome smile to a high school boy of smaller stature. He also had three daughters, the middle daughter, Teresa, whom I thought the cat’s meow.
A week ago Bill’s wife of sixty-six years, Sue Ball, passed away after a sudden illness. Sue was a fine lady, charming and personal. She was one of those people you’ve save a seat for beside you in a restaurant because she was such a delight. When I was back for my mom’s funeral less than two months ago Sue and Bill came up to my parents’ house and we sat and talked for a solid hour about life, kids, and pursuits.
I was taken back at her passing, and then today Bill told me that her name wasn’t really Sue. My response: “Say what?”
The first day of class as both of them began their college careers at Rio Grande College in Rio Grande, Ohio, they met in the college library. Bill took a fancy to this young woman immediately. They started dating, and five years later they got married. But her name was Edna Pearl!
Bill, however, called her, Sue. I’m not sure why he called her Sue. She was always “Pearl” to her mom. Perhaps he didn’t think she looked like someone whose name was “Pearl.” Whatever the reason, “Sue” stuck! It stuck so much that when they moved to Ironton, Ohio fifty-something years ago everybody in town came to know her as “Sue”. Whenever Bill was around Sue’s mom he was wise enough to call her Pearl, but otherwise she was Sue.
It isn’t often that someone is so accepting of a new name. Our identity gets associated with who we’ve been, not who we will be, or even invited to be. I know who I have been. There’s a certainty to it. A new name takes a bit of faith in the not-yet.
I never knew Sue in her prior life of her original name. Most everybody in Ironton, Ohio didn’t know her birth certificate name either. So unknown was her “Edna Pearl days” that Bill had to put “Sue” into the obituary listing to make people aware of who it was that had passed.
I was amazed by the story as he shared it today. Scripture tells several stories of new names that God gave people. Usually the new name was bestowed at a “fork in the road” moment. Abram to Abraham…Saul to Paul…nomad to father of the faith…persecutor to proclaimer.
The thing is…the longer you wrap yourself in the new identity that Jesus gives you the more it seems that is who you have always been. At some point people see you more as a “Paul” and forgetting of “Saul.”
Whatever name we remember Edna Pearl Sue Ball by the Lord knows her by a newer new name…”Beloved!”
Categories: Bible, Christianity, Community, Death, Faith, Jesus, love, marriage, Pastor, Story, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: beloved, college, delight, freshman, funeral, mentor, new name, nicknames, Rio Grande College, Sue, Sue Ball
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October 22, 2013
WORDS FROM W.W. October 22, 2013
“Spiritually-hungry Grown-ups in Kid’s Bodies”
Understatement that is about to be made. Kids like to have fun!
Nothing like a good game of “Red Light, Green Light!”
Kid’s birthday parties are celebrations of delight with icing!
A neighborhood gathering of children for a game of “hide-and-go-seek” still gives me goosebumps!
I love watching my grandson have fun playing soccer on a small-sided field with other five year olds. He hasn’t learned that you’re suppose to keep score yet, even though most of the adults watching are keeping track of that. He’s just having fun…and regardless of whether his team scores twenty goals or zippo the post-game snack will be be the same and taste just as good.
Kids often have a great perspective on things.
What I’ve been noticing lately in our church is that there are a number of spiritually hungry kids. I’ll call them “spiritually-hungry adults in kid’s bodies”, because a lot of them are asking deeper questions than how many loaves and fishes did the little boy give Jesus?
One young man, just a tee shirt size past being a kid, asks me questions of depth each week. He’s looking for substance in this thing we call “walking with Jesus.” He’s figuring things out in his heart and in his mind. His mom has told me that he’s thinking about being a pastor. What do you say to a “Samuel?”
“Be a good little boy for Jesus” does not suffice. I’ve come to realize that spiritually-hungry kids don’t need all the answers in one gorging session. They need questions that lead them to discovering answers, and they need conversations that bring them to certain points where they can hear my answer.
Spiritually-hungry kids want to ask questions that don’t necessarily have one clear answer. “If God created everything, why did he create Satan?” “If God knows I’m going to tell a lie why doesn’t he stop me before I tell it?” “Why is our worship service on Sunday morning for about an hour? Why not thirty minutes or three hours…and why don’t we have popcorn? Is there something in the Bible that says we can’t have popcorn in church?”
No question is out-of-bounds for spiritually-hungry adults in kid’s bodies.
And here’s something else that I have no proof of, but just a sense in my spirit about. Kids who ask deep spiritual questions are often borderline threatening to a church. Sometimes it’s because the actual grown-ups aren’t asking deep questions themselves. If the climate is always one where only questions that have easy answers can be asked, deeper questions weigh on people like the after effects of the Sunday potluck.
In other situations kids who ask deep questions create uncomfortableness because it throws the whole system out of whack. Kind of like someone taking college courses he though he’s still in high school. It isn’t the progression we are used to, and yet a whole lot of high school graduates now enter college already with a number of college credits.
Kids asking deep spiritual questions…listen to this…is the hope of the church!
How so? It’s a rescuing of the community of faith from meaningless ritual and superficial spirituality. It’s leading new followers of Jesus beyond the tyranny of the urgent that keeps telling us that everything else is more important than the murmurings of our spirit.
Kids asking deep spiritual questions conveys that THIS really is IMPORTANT, this relationship with Jesus and life amongst the other believers. When kids stop asking questions the church has questions to ask.
I close with a confession! Too often I’m more concerned with the agenda and schedule than I am with the questions. For instance, last Sunday I did a kid’s story in our worship service. It did not go as I planned. The kids had comments and questions that did not fit into my plan. I rushed them to “my finish line”, because there was the adult message to get to. Sometimes that’s how we are…rush the kids to the pre-determined end point and ignore the questions.
And you know something! Kids are more important than that! They need to be seen…and heard, especially while they are still willing to give us “older kids in adult bodies” a hearing!
Categories: Bible, children, Christianity, Community, Faith, Freedom, Grace, Jesus, Parenting, Pastor, Story, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: kids, questions, Samuel, seeking, Spiritual, Why
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October 21, 2013
WORDS FROM W.W. October 20, 2013
Today I was incredibly blessed in numerous ways. Every day is like that. We just don’t recognize a lot of the blessings.
But today a ten year old boy named Miles blessed me more than he will probably ever know. Before our worship service started, he was invited into my office, along with Rich Blanchette to pray for me.
Rich and Miles each laid a hand on my shoulder and “prayed me up” for the morning service. Miles has not been ordained, elected, or even assigned. He’s just a neat kid who likes to wear combat pants in the woods, laugh a lot, and follow Jesus. He got baptized last April along with his little sister. He goes to school like any other kid, eats turkey legs at Air Force football games, and can be a goofball when he feels like it.
So why was I so blessed by Miles? Because too often kids are tolerated in the church, not empowered. Kids are cute, but seldom are taken seriously.
But a church that allows kids to not only pursue a relationship with Christ, but also be a part of ministry is awesome.
And why is that important? Because kids are awesome. Kids simplify what we grown-ups complicate.
I’m not nominating Miles for sainthood or planning his ordination. I’m just saying I was overwhelmed that he thought enough of me to want to pray for me.
Perhaps next week I’ll be surrounded by praying kids…and I’d be okay with that.
Categories: children, Christianity, Community, Freedom, Jesus, Parenting, Pastor, Prayer, Story, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: baptized, blessed, blessing, cute, kids, praying, ten year olds
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October 16, 2013
WORDS FROM W.W. October 16, 2013
He pulled up in a pick-up that looked like it had been through a few battles. I welcomed him into the house and showed him where the main TV was located. He had lazy eyes, kind of like the Robert Barone character on Everybody Loves Raymond, and a slightly covered tattoo on his right upper arm.
We conversed for a little bit and then I left the room to put the laundry in the washing machine. When I came back we started talking again and he asked me what my occupation was.
“I pastor a church.”
“Oh, really! Which one?”
“Highland Park Baptist Church, corner of Maizeland and Circle.”
“I was baptized when I was a baby back in Boston.” I assumed it was a Catholic church, but from the tone of his voice I don’t think he really knew. “I’ve probably only been in a church four times in my life. Once for my grandfather’s funeral, and a wedding, and once I went with a friend of mine to his church in Denver some place.”
“How was that?”
“I don’t really remember. He invited me to go with him so I did. That’s it!”
I searched for something to say, but nothing rose to the surface. Sometimes the work of the Holy Spirit is to keep us from having a nice quick response.
“I don’t know about God…or a higher power…or whatever you might call him. I don’t really buy into it. I’ve got too many questions that don’t seem to have answers. Like…why would God allow catastrophes to happen? Or why are there so many different kinds of churches? Why not just one church? Why does one person believe one thing and another person believes something completely different?”
“Those are all good questions.”
“I’ve never really read the Bible. Not really my thing.”
“It’s got some good things to say.”
“Probably. I believe that we’re here, but I’m not sure we have a purpose. What if we’re just one of many planets in the universe that are inhabited? What does that say about us?”
“I’m not sure.”
“So…you’re like the priest?”
“Something like that.”
“That’s cool! Do you…like, have mass on a certain day?”
“Yes, on Sundays, but we’ve got other things that go on during the week. Monday is my day off.”
“So…where did God come from?”
How do I answer that?
“I guess you could say that God didn’t come from anywhere or anyone, because he is God. He’s always been and will be.”
“I guess that’s hard for me to understand. I need scientific evidence. It just seems too vague, too foggy.”
“I guess some things just require faith. I’ll always have doubts, but I trust that God knows what he is doing and plans to do.”
“My doubt trumps my faith.”
“There’s a verse in the Bible where the followers of Jesus met him AFTER he had been resurrected from the dead and it says “they worshiped him, but some doubted.”
For me, that tells me that doubt is part of the faith journey.”
“I hear what you’re saying, but I’m just not there. And, quite honestly, I have my doubts over a story about someone being brought back from the dead. Sounds too much like a Hollywood hero-movie ending.”
We talked for a while more. It was thought-provoking and challenging. Here was someone who had experienced a lot of uncertainty in his life, but a journey with Jesus was just a little bit too much of a reach for him. It made me think about the challenges of communicating Truth to a generation that does not know the Bible, or value the Bible. It echoed in my spirit about the hesitancy of faith. Doubt is the easier road to take.
Perhaps my willingness to talk brought a little light to the situation for him. I didn’t try to convince him that he was wrong and I was right, but I listened and responded as best I could.
Sometimes questions don’t need to be answered. They just need to be heard. That day our new cable got installed and God had me listen.
Categories: Bible, Christianity, Faith, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Pastor, Story, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: Belief, dialogue, Discussion, Doubt, faith issues, questions
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October 10, 2013
WORDS FROM W.W. October 10, 2013
Dear Child Turned Into Woman,
I’ve experienced a shower of joyful tears in recent days as I’ve pondered your approaching wedding. Your mother has labored hours and hours in anticipation of the event, and I know the labors of love have been preceded by years of prayers of love.
You are being wed to a man to look up to. Well…you usually do look up to anyone who is older than eleven, but you look up to Mike because of his character and qualities. He has a spirit of determination within him, and he is determined to be a husband of strong character and substance.
So what can I say to do as you approach this transition from single young lady to new wife?
Be who are you are! Mike loves you for who you are, not for who you might be. He was drawn by your tender spirit, your sensitivity for those who are hurting. He loves your gullible nature and adorable laugh. He loves your strong convictions and commitment to principle. And he loves your fearfulness and, odd as it sounds, your fearsomeness. He loves your need for his input, although I don’t think you need to call him to see what kind of toilet paper you should buy at Walgreen’s! You can keep calling your mom for input on things like that.
Be grounded and surrounded! Continue to be a learner of the Word and a journeyer with Jesus. Beginning a marriage needs the spiritual blanket of prayer and support. Take each other’s hand at dinner and say a prayer of thanksgiving. Find some others who are followers of Jesus and join with them. Stay away from churches with hype and lot for a church of substance and authenticity. Question why you believe what you believe, and discover where your spiritual roots are solid and which ones need a bit if fertilizing.
Be addicted to laughter! Nothing brightens up a home light shared laughter. You’re good at that. Your life has been abundantly filled with laughter. You and your sister laughed so much together as you were growing up…and you still do! One of the joys as your father has been hearing sibling chuckles, even though I was clueless as to what you were laughing about.
Be weather-resistant! That is, you and Mike will encounter storms. Life has it’s times of blessed sunshine, but also torrents of rain. Stand firm! Stand together. As your parents get older there will be those health scares and realities that will bring stress to your life and Mike’s life. There will be disagreements that you will encounter with your husband. Don’t ever let life situations and storms rise above your love and commitment to one another. The depth of your marriage is directly related to the persevering through difficult times.
Be willing to ask. If you need advice call us. Both you and I know that you call your mom about eighty times a day to talk about wallpaper, reality TV shows, and the price of shampoo. I get it! I don’t like wallpaper, reality TV, or what the brand of my shampoo is. But if you need some advice on something, don’t be afraid to call. On the other hand, marriage is an opportunity for you and Mike to now figure out some things on your own. He can be your adviser and you can be his adviser. I’m okay with being the next layer down.
Be my daughter…still! I’m extremely proud of you. Who you have been, who you are, and who you will be. Each of our three kids is special to us. Who would have thought our kid who kept kicking down the “For Sale” sign in front of our house at 816 Cindy Street, Mason, Michigan, would one day marry Michael Terveen from Spearfish, South Dakota? Although you will legally be Mrs. Elizabeth Terveen, you will always be “Lizi” to us. We treasure our relationship with you, which although will take on a different dynamic, will not change at the core. You are our daughter…and now I’m crying tears of joy!
Categories: children, Christianity, Community, Humor, Jesus, love, marriage, Parenting, Pastor, Prayer, Story, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: advice, Celebration, daughter, Father of the Bride, marriage, Weddings
Comments: 1 Comment
September 27, 2013
WORDS FROM W.W. September 27, 2013
Fifteen days until my youngest daughter’s wedding! We’re shifting into wedding gear tonight. that’s like Nascar drivers entering into the final lap. There is a reckless abandon as we take the engines to their limit.
For us that means cleaning a couple of rooms at the house tonight. I have to clean my home study! That’s about as appealing as gargling Geritol!
Garage vacuuming is on the horizon. Cleaning the outdoor grill will soon be upon me…even though we won’t be using it.
A wedding is an event, kind of like our own Super Bowl festivities without the commercials…or the football game.
On October 12 at 4:45 (estimated) I’ll walk my baby down the aisle to be wedded to Mike Terveen. I’m happy…and reluctant at the same time. She has been ours for twenty-five years. We remember when she was born at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan. We remember her first day of school…missing two front teeth as she smiled. We remembered when she was eating at a Pizza Hut and she was totally unaware that a piece of sausage was stuck to her right cheek. We remember when she was on the Homecoming Court at Liberty High School, and when we dropped her off at college seven hundred miles away from home and considered relocating just off campus!
We also remember when she introduced us to Mike, and we could tell that she was smitten. The next few years included break-ups, sorting out differences, solidifying the relationship, and then a ring. Mike called me to ask my permission to pop the question. I appreciated that.
As I consider “the walk” in two weeks I am even more amazed that God would give up his son for people like me. Just as I have reservations about giving the hand of my daughter to the man she will journey on with, I can’t imagine that our Heavenly Father didn’t have any reservations about handing his child over to those who would put him to death.
Some might accuse me of distorted theology, but for me to view God as a totally willing participant is to make him into an insensitive, stoic deity. It had to have grieved him more than anything else. As Jesus struggled to Golgotha under the weight of the sin of the world his father must have struggled in some way.
Giving my daughter in marriage to the man she loves is simply a transition point for me. It’s a celebration even as I display eyes that are red. But imagine God giving his son up, not because of a celebration, but because of a death sentence. What depth of love for us does that convey?
This is my baby that I walk down the aisle, but this was God’s Only!
Amazing love!
Categories: Bible, children, Christianity, Community, Faith, Freedom, Humor, Jesus, love, marriage, Parenting, Pastor, Story, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: baby, Bride, Celebration, Father of the Bride, Geritol, marriage ceremony, reluctance, reservations, walking down the aisle, Wedding
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Words from WW Blog 