As I write this, I am in flight on my way to Florida for my
son’s graduation from Explosive Ordnance Disposal School. He now knows all
there is to know about disarming bombs and blowing up IEDs. We don’t know much
about what he does because it is top secret.
To say we are proud of him is insufficient. We have been blessed to have
had him in our lives. It’s like God just dropped him into our hands and
commanded us to protect, love unconditionally, and to raise him in the faith.
We have done our best to do those things.
My son is so precious to me. I would lay down my life for
him if it ever came to that. Mothers love their children with a passion unlike
any other, at least most mothers do. Fathers love their children, too, doing
all they can humanly do to protect them. God intended for families to bond with a love and strength
that is a reflection of his love for his people. Like a father and a mother, he
graciously and carefully protects us from the evil one. And his love is more
fierce and unshakable than any human parent’s.
My son has chosen a path wrought with dangers. I
pray every day he will be kept from all harm. But he is a man, not a child
and my influence has waned. He must make his own decisions and it is my fervent
hope that his upbringing will always be with him.
The Father of all believers took another way. Instead of
being overly protective of his child, instead of being fearful, he sent his Son
into the world to be a living sacrifice on behalf all sinners. ALL sinners, regardless
of how far down they have sunk. The drunk in the gutter to the drunk in the
penthouse. The prostitute and the philandering husband. The murderer and the
drug addict. They all can be saved, because when God’s grace mingles with our
faith, we gain eternal life; all because of the sacrifice on the terrible cross of
his Son, Jesus Christ, the Lord.
Believing in his death and resurrection, promises the same
will happen to us. Our hope is of leaving this fallen world and resurrecting in the newness of eternity. Dying as the Lord did to this
life, this world, the sting of death is removed for us, but add to that truth is
the new body awaiting us; a body for eternity all because he loves us with an
undying passion. His love goes way beyond the kind of often conditional love we
offer as demonstrated by the soaring divorce rate, infanticide, and war between
nations.
God’s love is described in I Corinthians chapter 13. It’s our benchmark. We stumble and fail many times to love as God loves. It’s his gracious and undying love for us that makes us not thrown in the towel. Yes, it is true that some do give up, but God’s enduring faithfulness doesn't boot us out of the “program”. He pours out grace to those who have given up trying. If we are sentient and breathing, chances to grown in love abounds. He desires all his children to grow up and live as mature Christians in every facet of their lives.
God’s love is described in I Corinthians chapter 13. It’s our benchmark. We stumble and fail many times to love as God loves. It’s his gracious and undying love for us that makes us not thrown in the towel. Yes, it is true that some do give up, but God’s enduring faithfulness doesn't boot us out of the “program”. He pours out grace to those who have given up trying. If we are sentient and breathing, chances to grown in love abounds. He desires all his children to grow up and live as mature Christians in every facet of their lives.
Why He doesn't give up on us is due to the love we read in scripture: “We love because he first loved us." When my son was born, I
didn't think I could love so intensely. It was a deeper love than I ever had.
And I shed many tears due to pain and fear, but sheer joy was mixed in to
make my time with my son worth everything. For most of his life he wanted to be
a soldier. His dream of getting into West Point came true. It’s like he knew he
was destined for something, but it wasn't until later in college that he decided for Ordnance.
A choice fraught with danger, yet there really wasn't anything I could say. I let go of my boy and now he is a man. My job now is to encourage and take pride in the man he has
become. I pray desperately that his life spared, that he not be maimed in any way, emotionally or physically.
When God sent his Son, the clear understanding was he would
be turned over to us to do what we would, and eventually it led to his death.
When I sent my son into the military, I was not too keen to hand him over to those
who could lead him to the ultimate sacrifice. God’s plan for Jesus’ death would
lead to the greatest victory of all time; the destruction of sin and death. Wars
in this world are often fuzzy with soldiers asking why they are being put in
harm’s way. But Jesus didn't question God’s plan. Yes, he asked that if there
were another way to accomplish the plan then perhaps he could bypass the cross.
But there wasn't and his loyalty and love for the Father led to the ultimate sacrifice, yet his death brought life and light into the world. And while the body he had,
just like ours, was dead, three days later he rose from the dead with a new
body, unlike the one he was born with.
His sacrifice was the greatest ever paid.
Billions upon billions are in God’s presence even now, praising his
unconditional love, his matchless grace, and his stunningly secure
faithfulness. Those of us now would do well to read the scripture
stories of the fathers of faith, to see how their weak faith could be, their sins galore, and how
disloyal they were sometimes. In doing so, you will find much of yourself there. But you
will also see how they became giants of faith and how nations rose and fell based on faith, love,
and hope in God’s mercy and grace.
My precious son is unlikely to change the world. He is not
Jesus, but the line of work he has chosen will save lives. And maybe one of
those saved will have an epiphany moment, a crisis of faith turning into the recognition
that God exists, God loves and just maybe they will pray and be given answers,
from the Father who seeks those who will believe when they get touched by his
grace.
No comments:
Post a Comment