Some of the sweetest moments in life for me have been just “hanging out” with those I love. I remember gathering fossils along a creek bed with our son when he was into learning about them. I can recall hours of faithfully running with my friend Rich below star-filled, early morning skies. And I still enjoy daily walks with my lovely Sherry around our neighborhood. These are times of “full sharing” where we open our hearts to one another.
I was feeling pretty good at about the 20-mile mark of the Columbus Marathon. It was invigorating to have just run through a part of the “shoe,” The Ohio State football stadium which is shaped like a horseshoe. As I continued on the course, I saw a man sitting beside the road who seemed to be “out of it.” When I stopped to help him, I noticed a scripture reference on his headband: Hebrews 12:1,2.
Jesus Christ was maligned and criticized more than any man—but he always remembered who God made him to be. At times, when the Devil tries to accuse and condemn us, it’s good to remember who God made us to be and what He thinks of us.
In Part 1, Our Father’s Loving Design, we saw three vital truths to understanding the world around us: God is good always, all that is in the heavens and the earth reflect His design, and all good things today are through Jesus Christ.
I remember spending hour upon hour of my youth looking at spiders and their webs, following columns of ants, catching snakes (sometimes poisonous!), watching birds flit from tree to tree, seeing giant clouds race across the vast Missouri sky, grabbing crawdads from behind in Buck Creek, finding baby bunnies in the blackberry patch, seeing our kitty give birth and nurse her kittens, catching frogs at the pond and making torches from the cattails there, lying at the foot of my bed to watch lightning and then listening for the thunder, sitting transfixed beneath a winter sky full of brilliant stars beyond counting, and catching bumblebees in pink, pollen-filled clover.
As a boy, I loved to listen to my parent’s old radio/phonograph player. It was set in a beautiful wooden cabinet, and I was often fascinated by the glowing tubes that warmed up to receive radio signals or the stack of records that dropped one at a time so the arm could gently place the needle on that record.
One of my favorite songs of the day was called “I’m My Own Grandpa.” It was a humorous ballad about a man who, through a variety of marriages and family relations, became his own grandfather.
Whenever my brothers and sisters needed to settle an argument, we would say “Dad said so,” or “Mom said so.” Their authority was good enough to see things happen. Perhaps you’ve seen the same at work. If your supervisor gave permission, then you could freely go where you needed to and get the job done. How about your personal checks? Are they any good without the authority of your signature? The name is the key.
Sherry and I love to read five psalms each night before going to bed. If you read five per day, you get through all 150 psalms in thirty days. Then you can start over again the next month. Psalm 34 is one that we read today. As we saw its depth and beauty, we wanted to share it with others.
Sickness fully overtook him,
Lazarus was in the grave,
Messengers sent to the master,
oh my brother can you save?
After four days he hath rotted,
stinking at the doors of death,
Now could even the Messiah,
bring back mortal life and breath?