Hear the word of the Lord:
Psalm 148
Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his host!
Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for he commanded and they were created.
He established them forever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.
Praise the LORD from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!
Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!
Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike,
old and young together!
Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the LORD!
Blessings,
Ron
Showing posts with label heaven. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heaven. Show all posts
Monday, December 28, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
The work of your fingers ...
Hear the word of the Lord:
Psalm 8
O LORD, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?
Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,
all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalm 8
O LORD, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?
Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,
all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Joy comes in the morning ...
Hear the word of the psalmist speaking to God:
I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up,
and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
It is unfortunate that so many think that heaven and hell
are both future tense. As if delaying their enactment
denied in some way their reality.
Yet this psalm clears up this wrong thinking;
Sheol, hell itself, is something that we can experience,
even now, even in this very time and place in which we live.
Sometimes circumstances place us there, and only
the love of God can restore us from the Pit.
Yet in my experience, more often we confine ourselves
to hell on this earth by our own attitudes, our own choices,
our own refusal to let go of paralyzing pain
and putrefying grudges from the past.
We have to want to get well for the healing of God to help.
The good news is that God wants to help if we want to heal.
Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment;
his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
There is a time for tears; we may even baptize ourselves in them.
Yet even that implies a rising, a resurrection to a life,
Full of joy for us and full of favor with God.
Only tears of joy are appropriate to paradise –
there’s no crying in heaven …
As for me, I said in my prosperity,
"I shall never be moved."
By your favor, O Lord,
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.
The extent of my wealth doesn’t matter;
if I have the favor of God, then I am prosperous,
prosperous enough to praise God until I leave
whatever heaven I have to earth to find
the more permanent version.
What pain do you need to let go of?
What personal hell do you need to vacate?
The grace of God calls you to be in his presence
and know the joy of being content in his providence.
Grace, and peace,
Ron
Psalm 30 – NRSV
I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up,
and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
It is unfortunate that so many think that heaven and hell
are both future tense. As if delaying their enactment
denied in some way their reality.
Yet this psalm clears up this wrong thinking;
Sheol, hell itself, is something that we can experience,
even now, even in this very time and place in which we live.
Sometimes circumstances place us there, and only
the love of God can restore us from the Pit.
Yet in my experience, more often we confine ourselves
to hell on this earth by our own attitudes, our own choices,
our own refusal to let go of paralyzing pain
and putrefying grudges from the past.
We have to want to get well for the healing of God to help.
The good news is that God wants to help if we want to heal.
Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment;
his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
There is a time for tears; we may even baptize ourselves in them.
Yet even that implies a rising, a resurrection to a life,
Full of joy for us and full of favor with God.
Only tears of joy are appropriate to paradise –
there’s no crying in heaven …
As for me, I said in my prosperity,
"I shall never be moved."
By your favor, O Lord,
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.
The extent of my wealth doesn’t matter;
if I have the favor of God, then I am prosperous,
prosperous enough to praise God until I leave
whatever heaven I have to earth to find
the more permanent version.
What pain do you need to let go of?
What personal hell do you need to vacate?
The grace of God calls you to be in his presence
and know the joy of being content in his providence.
Grace, and peace,
Ron
Psalm 30 – NRSV
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Time to spread our wings ...
There is a song we have sung many times in many places. It is a song that meant a lot to some dear saints I have known. Some of them sang it from the day that it first was sung in our churches:
I’ll Fly Away
Albert E. Brumley
Some glad morning when this life is o’er,
I’ll fly away;
To a home on God’s celestial shore,
I’ll fly away.
When the shadows of this life have grown,
I’ll fly away;
Like a bird from prison bars has flown,
I’ll fly away.
Just a few more weary days and then,
I’ll fly away;
To a land where joys shall never end,
I’ll fly away.
I’ll fly away, O glory, I’ll fly away;
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I’ll fly away.
Now, I have to tell you that I have always been fond of this song because of the people with whom I have sung it, and the places where we sang it. But lately, that fondness is more for sentimental feelings than theological reasons. What’s the problem?
Life seemed pretty grim nearly everywhere in 1932, the year that Albert wrote this song. There was a Depression, and it seemed to people that the efforts of humanity were futile. The Modern future that seemed so bright just a couple of decades previously had taken a severe beating from a World War, and then came a world-wide economic disaster. Over the next decade, things would get much worse before getting any better. If there was any hope, it didn’t appear to be on this planet, but in the next world.
Consequently, this world became something to endure: life, shadows, prison bars, and weary days. Even in pain or poverty, is this how God means for us to see this world? Are these the feelings that we are meant to experience in these difficult days and circumstances? Is our hope merely for the final coming of Jesus? I think not.
Our future is not when this life is over, it is not when the shadows have lengthened into those of the Psalmist’s valley, it is not after a few more weary days. Our future is our next instant, our next moment in time. The future is not however many days, months or years from now that God takes us to heaven, but the end of this paragraph.
Our hope is that the power of God working through his people can make the world a little better today so that tomorrow starts off from a better place. Such a place will require constant tending, but hope tells us that there is a way for things to be better. It may not be better everywhere, but with our hope and action, and God’s approval and providence, it is possible for it to be better here, soon.
Yes, the kingdom of God has come, and the church is the vanguard of it. But it is not yet completely here. We are called to be co-workers in that kingdom, not spectators. It is our job to bring a little more of the kingdom into this world day by day. We will never complete the job in our lifetime, but surely redeeming humanity and this planet is something that was intended to be our lives’ work, and not a mess to be left entirely for God to clean up in the “end times.”
Yes, I believe that God has a home on his celestial shore, but I also believe that he has one in Hollis, Oklahoma. It may not seem like heaven all of the time to all of its inhabitants, but our job is to make it the closest approximation that we can with the time and the resources that God has given to us. Heaven won’t have prison bars, but neither does this; we have the free will to choose ways to be a people who love and nurture needy children for the glory of God. He has given us freedom to work, and worship, and yes, even to play so as to delight in that freedom and glorify him with it. Yes, joys will never end in heaven, but we ought to find plenty of them here. We should be doing a little more than taste-testing the delights of paradise.
O, I’ll fly away one of these days, but that means that I had better learn how to spread my wings now. I don’t want to wait until I’m shoved out of the nest to see what they feel like.
Grace and peace,
Ron
I’ll Fly Away
Albert E. Brumley
Some glad morning when this life is o’er,
I’ll fly away;
To a home on God’s celestial shore,
I’ll fly away.
When the shadows of this life have grown,
I’ll fly away;
Like a bird from prison bars has flown,
I’ll fly away.
Just a few more weary days and then,
I’ll fly away;
To a land where joys shall never end,
I’ll fly away.
I’ll fly away, O glory, I’ll fly away;
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I’ll fly away.
Now, I have to tell you that I have always been fond of this song because of the people with whom I have sung it, and the places where we sang it. But lately, that fondness is more for sentimental feelings than theological reasons. What’s the problem?
Life seemed pretty grim nearly everywhere in 1932, the year that Albert wrote this song. There was a Depression, and it seemed to people that the efforts of humanity were futile. The Modern future that seemed so bright just a couple of decades previously had taken a severe beating from a World War, and then came a world-wide economic disaster. Over the next decade, things would get much worse before getting any better. If there was any hope, it didn’t appear to be on this planet, but in the next world.
Consequently, this world became something to endure: life, shadows, prison bars, and weary days. Even in pain or poverty, is this how God means for us to see this world? Are these the feelings that we are meant to experience in these difficult days and circumstances? Is our hope merely for the final coming of Jesus? I think not.
Our future is not when this life is over, it is not when the shadows have lengthened into those of the Psalmist’s valley, it is not after a few more weary days. Our future is our next instant, our next moment in time. The future is not however many days, months or years from now that God takes us to heaven, but the end of this paragraph.
Our hope is that the power of God working through his people can make the world a little better today so that tomorrow starts off from a better place. Such a place will require constant tending, but hope tells us that there is a way for things to be better. It may not be better everywhere, but with our hope and action, and God’s approval and providence, it is possible for it to be better here, soon.
Yes, the kingdom of God has come, and the church is the vanguard of it. But it is not yet completely here. We are called to be co-workers in that kingdom, not spectators. It is our job to bring a little more of the kingdom into this world day by day. We will never complete the job in our lifetime, but surely redeeming humanity and this planet is something that was intended to be our lives’ work, and not a mess to be left entirely for God to clean up in the “end times.”
Yes, I believe that God has a home on his celestial shore, but I also believe that he has one in Hollis, Oklahoma. It may not seem like heaven all of the time to all of its inhabitants, but our job is to make it the closest approximation that we can with the time and the resources that God has given to us. Heaven won’t have prison bars, but neither does this; we have the free will to choose ways to be a people who love and nurture needy children for the glory of God. He has given us freedom to work, and worship, and yes, even to play so as to delight in that freedom and glorify him with it. Yes, joys will never end in heaven, but we ought to find plenty of them here. We should be doing a little more than taste-testing the delights of paradise.
O, I’ll fly away one of these days, but that means that I had better learn how to spread my wings now. I don’t want to wait until I’m shoved out of the nest to see what they feel like.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Influence: oblivious strength
It was a dark and stormy night.
Well, actually it was a dark night but not so very stormy. At church camp it was late enough for the younger kids to be in bed dozing to the burr of a dozen fans, but early enough for the older campers and staff to be playing a game. Or perhaps having a learning experience.
They are playing a game called angels and demons. The campers are blindfolded, which considering the darkness of the night, is virtually redundant. The campers have an objective. They are supposed to move somehow, as individuals or groups, to a place called Heaven. They are to depend upon their ability to touch and to hear. They cautiously feel their way forward with feet carefully shuffling step-by-step, while listening to the voices of staff members, some of whom are “angels” and some of whom are “demons.” The angels can’t physically guide their humans to Heaven; they have to rely on persuasion. The demons are obviously not intent on getting the kids to heaven; they have a different Plan H. They seek to convince the kids that they are the true guides leading them to the place that they really want to be. Neither angel or demon can come straight out and give their true identity, but they do have to answer any question that the kids ask of them. Or appear to answer the question. Kids are spread out all over camp, as angels lead a group here, or persuade a girl or boy there; demons distract some of the members of a flock here or there, and one leads his group away at a speed close to a goosestep.
One of the demons is stressed. She is (in her true identity) one of those sweet young women who couldn’t put more than two mean words together in a sentence without feeling guilty for a week because she even thought the sentence. Because she thinks that it would be fun for people to not think of her so much a “Miss Goody Two-shoes,” she volunteers to be one of the demons. The problem is, she is spectacularly successful at it. The younger girls hear her voice and circle around her like so many June bugs around a porch light. Only this time she isn’t the light. In a metaphorical way, she is a temporary agent of the Pit of Darkness, the Hub of Hatred, the Lair of the Liar. She did not expect to experience the power that she wields. She is stunned; shaken, even. Eventually, her eyes fill with tears. In her frustration, she calls over an angel of some years and experience to use his considerable persuasive skills to convince her flock to leave the edge of this imaginary cliff. Even his calm and steady voice is not enough to distract, much less dissuade, her charges. Finally, in frustration, she breaks the rules (which causes her no end of cognitive dissonance and guilt) and tells her followers that she is a demon. They refuse to believe such an obvious piece of nonsense. They won’t leave her. The dear little “demon” is stunned and physically shaken by the whole experience.
The word for today is influence. We all have influence; the questions are: With whom? How much? What kind?
Our little demon knew that some of the younger girls were fond of her. What was so shocking to this young woman was the unexpected reality that so many young girls looked up to her, and that they would follow her unflinchingly. Apparently, they would follow her even through Hell, yet refuse to believe that Hell was where they were. Because it couldn’t be Hell if she were there, could it? “If I have this kind of influence over this many souls,” she thought, “how careful of a life am I going to have to live? What kind of life am I going to have to live?”
Very frequently, even the best of us can be oblivious to the power of our influence over others. We influence those that we know, especially those who care about us. Those who care about us take much more seriously the causes that we choose to be passionate about. Those who think that we are wise wonder if they shouldn’t use their time the way that we use our time. Even our demeanor when we enter a room can change the temperature of the place, because others wish to be in sync with how we are seeing the world today.
Paul was aware of the power of his influence:
For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone's bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat.
2 Thessalonians 3:7-10 – NRSV
Be alert today to the ways in which every smile or frown, every silence or every word, every commendation or correction, shapes the way those around you see their little universe. Be aware, be deliberate, and be wise, because you are making choices for more people than you may realize.
Grace, and peace,
Ron
Well, actually it was a dark night but not so very stormy. At church camp it was late enough for the younger kids to be in bed dozing to the burr of a dozen fans, but early enough for the older campers and staff to be playing a game. Or perhaps having a learning experience.
They are playing a game called angels and demons. The campers are blindfolded, which considering the darkness of the night, is virtually redundant. The campers have an objective. They are supposed to move somehow, as individuals or groups, to a place called Heaven. They are to depend upon their ability to touch and to hear. They cautiously feel their way forward with feet carefully shuffling step-by-step, while listening to the voices of staff members, some of whom are “angels” and some of whom are “demons.” The angels can’t physically guide their humans to Heaven; they have to rely on persuasion. The demons are obviously not intent on getting the kids to heaven; they have a different Plan H. They seek to convince the kids that they are the true guides leading them to the place that they really want to be. Neither angel or demon can come straight out and give their true identity, but they do have to answer any question that the kids ask of them. Or appear to answer the question. Kids are spread out all over camp, as angels lead a group here, or persuade a girl or boy there; demons distract some of the members of a flock here or there, and one leads his group away at a speed close to a goosestep.
One of the demons is stressed. She is (in her true identity) one of those sweet young women who couldn’t put more than two mean words together in a sentence without feeling guilty for a week because she even thought the sentence. Because she thinks that it would be fun for people to not think of her so much a “Miss Goody Two-shoes,” she volunteers to be one of the demons. The problem is, she is spectacularly successful at it. The younger girls hear her voice and circle around her like so many June bugs around a porch light. Only this time she isn’t the light. In a metaphorical way, she is a temporary agent of the Pit of Darkness, the Hub of Hatred, the Lair of the Liar. She did not expect to experience the power that she wields. She is stunned; shaken, even. Eventually, her eyes fill with tears. In her frustration, she calls over an angel of some years and experience to use his considerable persuasive skills to convince her flock to leave the edge of this imaginary cliff. Even his calm and steady voice is not enough to distract, much less dissuade, her charges. Finally, in frustration, she breaks the rules (which causes her no end of cognitive dissonance and guilt) and tells her followers that she is a demon. They refuse to believe such an obvious piece of nonsense. They won’t leave her. The dear little “demon” is stunned and physically shaken by the whole experience.
The word for today is influence. We all have influence; the questions are: With whom? How much? What kind?
Our little demon knew that some of the younger girls were fond of her. What was so shocking to this young woman was the unexpected reality that so many young girls looked up to her, and that they would follow her unflinchingly. Apparently, they would follow her even through Hell, yet refuse to believe that Hell was where they were. Because it couldn’t be Hell if she were there, could it? “If I have this kind of influence over this many souls,” she thought, “how careful of a life am I going to have to live? What kind of life am I going to have to live?”
Very frequently, even the best of us can be oblivious to the power of our influence over others. We influence those that we know, especially those who care about us. Those who care about us take much more seriously the causes that we choose to be passionate about. Those who think that we are wise wonder if they shouldn’t use their time the way that we use our time. Even our demeanor when we enter a room can change the temperature of the place, because others wish to be in sync with how we are seeing the world today.
Paul was aware of the power of his influence:
For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone's bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat.
2 Thessalonians 3:7-10 – NRSV
Be alert today to the ways in which every smile or frown, every silence or every word, every commendation or correction, shapes the way those around you see their little universe. Be aware, be deliberate, and be wise, because you are making choices for more people than you may realize.
Grace, and peace,
Ron
Friday, July 18, 2008
Receiving hospitality
Some years ago I traveled in Panama on a mission trip with a group of teenage youth. We walked through a neighborhood (not the poorest, and not the richest, but nonetheless, people of very humble means) inviting the children and their parents to come to a gospel meeting that the local church was having every evening. These families were very, very poor in comparison to United States families. In the middle of one particularly steamy afternoon, one of the families we were visiting showed their hospitality to my two young companions and myself by inviting us to share some refreshment with them. I politely declined, but the head of the household would not hear of it. One of the children was dispatched to get a Coca-Cola, and the mother went into the corner that was a kitchen to prepare something. Perhaps this family remembered the words of the Hebrew writer:
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.
- Hebrews 13:2 - NRSV
We certainly knew that we were no angels. If God had given us wings, we might have been too tempted to fly away. Out of embarrassment. I looked over into the eyes my partners to see if they understood just what was about to happen. Both gave me a quick nod of comprehension. We had been clearly warned, more than once, to be careful about what we ate and drank. The local water supply was such that food or drink prepared from it could easily inflict a fairly severe physical revenge upon us. But these young people understood clearly the issues. Whatever we were about to eat, however carefully prepared, however tasty, it held the potential to make us all really ill. On top of that, the cost of this afternoon's refreshment was easily equivalent to several hours' worth of labor for the father. And because of the brevity of our stay, we knew that it was highly unlikely that we would ever be able to repay them. Yet we all understood that to decline would be to inflict the worst possible insult upon this humble family.
We smiled. They smiled. We ate. It was delicious. We drank. It was cold. We smiled bigger. We gave them our sincere thanks, and continued on with our afternoon's work. God, in his traveling mercies, protected us from any unintended negative consequences. Instead he filled our hearts with fond memories of warm conversation and cool refreshment in the midst of a hot day. All of this with a beautiful family who clearly understood the biblical notion of hospitality.
Hear the words of Jesus:
"When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
- Luke 14:12-14 - NRSV
Now, it wasn't Sunday when we had our Panamanian banquet, and the elements of the meal were not those we use for the Lord's Supper, but I hope that we all realize that there was something holy about that meal. The sacred and the mundane are not separated, not encased, but connected permeably, so that each of these flows from one to the other in our lives. Partaking of the bread at the Lord's Table can never be completely removed from whether or not we share hunger-preventing bread with the poor whom we encounter. When things are right, the richer will share with the poorer. The girls and I would certainly have been much more comfortable if we could have treated this humble family to the banquet of their lives, but God chose to use their generosity to teach us a lesson about what real hospitality really means.
One of these days I hope that God repays this family for their kindness. Something bigger than a Coca-Cola and a snack. Perhaps it will please God at the end of time (or the beginning of eternity?) when we are all in heaven to allow the girls and I to bring a meal to the heavenly table of this beautiful family. Not that we could or would be the host; no, that will be God's place. The girls and I will merely be the servants of God, showing respect, showing hospitality, bringing providence, where both hospitality and providence are due.
Who will want to be at the table with us?
Grace and peace,
Ron
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.
- Hebrews 13:2 - NRSV
We certainly knew that we were no angels. If God had given us wings, we might have been too tempted to fly away. Out of embarrassment. I looked over into the eyes my partners to see if they understood just what was about to happen. Both gave me a quick nod of comprehension. We had been clearly warned, more than once, to be careful about what we ate and drank. The local water supply was such that food or drink prepared from it could easily inflict a fairly severe physical revenge upon us. But these young people understood clearly the issues. Whatever we were about to eat, however carefully prepared, however tasty, it held the potential to make us all really ill. On top of that, the cost of this afternoon's refreshment was easily equivalent to several hours' worth of labor for the father. And because of the brevity of our stay, we knew that it was highly unlikely that we would ever be able to repay them. Yet we all understood that to decline would be to inflict the worst possible insult upon this humble family.
We smiled. They smiled. We ate. It was delicious. We drank. It was cold. We smiled bigger. We gave them our sincere thanks, and continued on with our afternoon's work. God, in his traveling mercies, protected us from any unintended negative consequences. Instead he filled our hearts with fond memories of warm conversation and cool refreshment in the midst of a hot day. All of this with a beautiful family who clearly understood the biblical notion of hospitality.
Hear the words of Jesus:
"When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
- Luke 14:12-14 - NRSV
Now, it wasn't Sunday when we had our Panamanian banquet, and the elements of the meal were not those we use for the Lord's Supper, but I hope that we all realize that there was something holy about that meal. The sacred and the mundane are not separated, not encased, but connected permeably, so that each of these flows from one to the other in our lives. Partaking of the bread at the Lord's Table can never be completely removed from whether or not we share hunger-preventing bread with the poor whom we encounter. When things are right, the richer will share with the poorer. The girls and I would certainly have been much more comfortable if we could have treated this humble family to the banquet of their lives, but God chose to use their generosity to teach us a lesson about what real hospitality really means.
One of these days I hope that God repays this family for their kindness. Something bigger than a Coca-Cola and a snack. Perhaps it will please God at the end of time (or the beginning of eternity?) when we are all in heaven to allow the girls and I to bring a meal to the heavenly table of this beautiful family. Not that we could or would be the host; no, that will be God's place. The girls and I will merely be the servants of God, showing respect, showing hospitality, bringing providence, where both hospitality and providence are due.
Who will want to be at the table with us?
Grace and peace,
Ron
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