Over the weekend I had the opportunity to attend a high school class reunion/cookout, back in Fayette. It was actually a combination of classes, namely '81 (my year), '82 and '83. I rode down and met my life-long friend Lyle, and we rode out to the location together. It was a great night of seeing and catching up with old friends. I'm always amazed at the stories I hear, of the things that have happened in so many lives since our last reunion. Some are on their 2nd or even 3rd marriage, acting excited and hopeful for better days ahead. Some who married right out of high school, whom no one thought would ever make it, have actually defied the odds and stayed together and stayed in love across the years. That was a very encouraging thing to see. So many of us have kids that are now graduating, and we wonder, "Wow- are we really getting that old??" Some that I didn't know too well in school I've come to know better, like the captain of the cheerleading squad who along with raising 3 kids of her own, has adopted the 2 children of her drug addict brother. As she told me about it all, I saw the pain and sadness in her eyes, yet I marvelled at the courage and determination she possessed, to raise and love those kids as her very own. I hugged her and said, "You are doing an amazing, honorable thing. God's going to bless you for that." So many stories in so many lives, it was really too short a time to spend with them all. Lyle and I just walked among them, listening to their lives and giving encouragment to these classmates we loved so much.
I left with a heavy heart, wishing I could spend so much more time with so many of them. These were the people I grew up with, and though we have gone our separate ways, we will always have a deep connection to each other. And if God can continue to use me to speak His love into their lives, I hope I'll always be ready and available. I look forward to the next time we are all together again.
Rob

Last week I took a few days off to spend with my wife & girls, and with my parents at their lake house. Great place to relax and unwind. In fact the ride down there, through the farm & dairy country, is as pleasant as the destination!
I rode my motorcycle down, praying and worshipping God, as I often do while riding. About halfway there, I just asked God, "Father, what would you speak to my heart about? What would you teach me out here?" What ensued was a heart conversation with God that was both simple and profound.
What He brought to my mind was obedience. I prayed, "Why do we often not like the concept of obeying You? We want to focus on Your love, Your grace, enjoying Your blessings in our lives...Yet our rebellious nature wants to resist obedience sometimes. I know you're not some cosmic dictator, demanding our fearful allegience. Why obedience?"
Then He spoke into my heart- "Why do you want your children to obey you?"
I thought, then replied, "Because I love them, and want what's best for them."
"Go on," He whispered.
"Well, I also want to keep them from harm, from danger."
He pressed me further. "What else?"
"I want them to grow into responsible, mature, caring adults," I said.
"Anything else?" God spoke.
"Yes, actually. I want us to live and love in harmony under our roof. To really be a close, loving family," I said.
God then spoke to my heart, "If you desire all these things for your girls, how much more do you think I desire these for all My children? Those are also My motivations for your obedience."
I reflected on that the rest of the week- not only on this simple yet amazing conversation with the Father, but on the real meaning and purpose of obedience. It boils down to love- God's motivation in all His dealings with us. And I love Him all the more for it.
"You must live as obedient children. Don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn't know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God chose you to be holy. For the Scriptures say, 'You must be holy, because I am holy.'" 1 Peter 1:14-16
Rob

Yesterday I read a verse in the Bible that rocked me, and I've been stunned by it even today. I was reading Genesis 2-3 for a project here, when a little verse grabbed me like never before-
(3:21) And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.
A simple verse, I've read it hundreds of times over the years. And I know the meaning of it- a sacrifice was made to pay for their sin, etc. I know all that.
This time, though, God struck me emotionally with it. If you read back in ch.2, you see that Adam got to name all the animals- he cared for them, and knew them all, like household pets. Now, the Bible doesn't say how long Adam & Eve were there before they sinned- it could have been days, months, years, even decades. No one knows. But Adam knew all these animals, and I'm sure he loved them, like we love those critters in our own lives.
After they sinned, and that perfect communion with God was broken, this verse says that God, who created the first life, then took the first life- an innocent animal. One He had made. One Adam had named. One Adam knew. Now, because of their sin, this animal was slain, and they were clothed with this dead animal's skin. I can't imagine the shock, horror, and despair Adam & Eve experienced in that moment- seeing all this take place before their eyes, through their cries & sobs. This animal they knew and loved, taking their punishment, covering their shame.
To me that would be like, as a child, had I done something terribly bad, my father taking my dog, slaying him in front of me, and saying, "This is your fault. He's taking your punishment." That's a horrific thought for any of us, yet that's exactly what God did.
I choke up just thinking about this- the grief of that moment for Adam & Eve, and the realization of the gravity of their sin, that God should do this.
They were expelled from the Garden, and from their perfect environment for intimacy with God.
Then I think about what God did to restore us to Himself, in sending His own Son, Jesus Christ, to be the sacrifice for our sins, to clothe us again in the righteousness of God. I imagine the shock, horror, and despair of the Father, and all Heaven with Him, as Jesus was mutilated and brutalized and crucified, for our sins. Seeing all this take place before the eyes of Heaven- The Son they all knew and loved, taking the punishment of our sin, covering our shame.
And now, through Jesus Christ, whom God joyfully raised from the dead, we too can be restored to intimacy with God, and a new perfect environment one day to come...
"just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the the one Man the many will be made righteous." Romans 5:19
Rob