Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13: 34-35 (NIV)“Look here, you people who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to such and such a town, stay there a year, and open up a profitable business.” How do you know what is going to happen tomorrow? For the length of your lives is as uncertain as the morning fog—now you see it; soon it is gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we shall live and do this or that.”
James 4: 13-15 (TLB)“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
John 10: 9-10 (ESV)“And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.”
Mark 3: 13-19 (NKJV)
There are very few days when the memory of my father does not come to mind at least for a moment.
Sadly, though, too many of those moments do not bring a smile, but instead lingering feelings of emptiness, pain, abandonment, and a sense of loss for what might have been.
It was a lesson on relationships he unwittingly learned when forged in his life by his own father’s abandonment of him and his mother while he was still a student in elementary school.
Never to be seen again. Never again having the chance to say, “Happy Father’s Day!”
A bad example passed on, learned, and passed on again.
Despite accepting Christ as my personal Savior and Lord later in life, and finding the opportunity, after much prayer, and study of God’s Word, to forgive and speak a blessing over my father before he passed, which he obviously never received as a young boy, or later, the feelings of sadness for what might have been, still linger.
Mixed in with an occasional smile reflecting a thankful moment.
But God has blessed me with others like my Bride’s Dad and Mother, and two Federal Judges I had the privilege to clerk for after law school and who remained friends and supporters of mine throughout their lives.
And most importantly, God blessed me with the wisdom, resilience, and grace of my Bride, patiently helping me move beyond the past, while molding me into who God created me to be.
All of them and precious others—family and friends, helped me draw a line between what was, moving me to then be the Husband, Father, Father-in-law, Grandfather, Godfather, Coach, Teacher, friend, counselor, and other platforms of privilege which God trusted me with, which would honor Him.
Relationships. We miss too many of them in the living years. Either by the decisions and actions of others, or by our actions causing missed moments.
Leaving us with regrets.
Relationships. Jesus, of course, had it right. Except for an occasional temporary withdrawal to chat with His Father, and get a bit of rest, He was always with His disciples.
His relationship with them, and teaching them, was important to Him, preparing them to be His voice and message of hope to the world after He ascended into Heaven.
Actually, Jesus Christ’s relationship with everyone was important to Him.
The woman at the well in John chapter 4, the leper in Matthew chapter 8, the woman about to be stoned in John chapter 8, and everyone He met, everywhere He went during His life and ministry among us.
And the relationship today with us is important to Him.
Do not miss the moments of important relationships during the living years.
Whatever went before us in our lives, Jesus, and others he sends, stand ready to help us draw a line between the difficulties, disappointments, despair, and defeats of the past, and the abundant life He created us to live in the living years of your life and mine.
Do not miss the relationships He sends to bless you and help you to walk over, around, and through the mountains and valleys you may face.
And do not miss the relationships which God will bring before you—to bless, build, enjoy, cherish, and to lift someone to all they were created to be.
In His Name–Scott
Listen well to the message of this song “The Living Years” by Mike & The Mechanics as you reflect on what was, and all you can be with God for the rest of your life.
