A few days ago, I received several phone calls and emails from family and friends, on the occasion of my birthday. It is always encouraging to hear people say “God bless you” and “I’m praying for you.” Yesterday, Karen and I went to a service at the church in which we were married more than 43 years ago. It was great to see friends whom we hadn’t seen for many years.
In sorting books in our mini-library at home, I found a book entitled “Finishing Well” by John Garner. Below the title of this book is this sentence: “It happens by choice, not by chance.” Karen and I had the privilege of meeting John Garner when he was the pastor of a church in Ontario that supported us. Inside the cover of this book are these words: “Are you taking chances with your choices?” Then I saw that several people had written that they loved us and were praying for us. Pastor Garner wrote “We are honoured to partner with you!” Seeing these expressions of love from brothers and sisters in Christ helped me to see how important it is to study the Bible and dedicate ourselves to serve Him.”
Do you sometimes look at the last page of a book before starting to read it? I do sometimes, but when I flipped to the end of Pastor Garner’s book I saw a photo of him and the title “About John.” I discovered that he was adopted at the age of one month. That got me thinking that when we meet someone for the first time, we don’t know if they were raised by one parent, two parents, other family members, or people who adopted them. No matter what the circumstances of our childhood were, we all have sinned and need to ask God’s forgiveness for our sins.
For the past week, Karen and I have been flicking a switch in the cupboard of our bedroom to turn on the light in the ceiling. We forgot that a week ago, the light bulb “died” and needed to be replaced. Today we bought a bulb and after installing it, we can now see where our clothes are. As we reflect on the words of the Lord Jesus (please see “Scripture for the weekend”), let us walk in His light. This Easter, let’s remember how God demonstrated His love for us. He sent His only Son to redeem us. In February, I shared the following from Our Daily Bread Canada: “Jesus carried the burden of our sin so He could give us the blessing of life.”
Steve