Grandpa Communion

Good Evening,
Death puts fear in the hearts and minds of many all over the world. I remember not to long ago when my Grandfather died. My school day seemed the same as any other day of the week until at my lunch break an office aid came to find me. He said something about my grandpa and his bad condition so I followed him to the office where I was met by Mr. Schishler, my administrator. He told me my Father had called and that it was an emergency. So, Mrs. Maxwell who worked at Colerain High took me home where I met my dad and mother. In a full panic we raced off to Indianapolis Hospital where my grandpa had been for the last couple of months. Arriving at the hospital was a relief. Once we reached my grandpa’s room, the only one in there was my Uncle Greg. (My dad’s younger brother). A call came from the doctor tending him informing of complications during an MRI which he needed because he had fallen into a coma, Greg respected the living will and gave the order to not resuscitate. Only minutes later arrived the news that Richard Willmore died, we were on our way to the elevator to see him. Even though he reached his physical death his life is far from over.
A humble first century theologian wrote this about the death of his Rabbi.

2nd Corinthians 5:14-21
14For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

I have come to love and marvel at this passage. It is beautifully written and a very wise realization of the gospel. The fact that Christ gave himself up to death as a result of human sin means that he surrendoured himself to share our condition; and since he died, we all who believe share in that death and are now dead to sin. Apart from Christ we are dead in sin but in Christ we are dead to Sin.

My grandpa is dead in the worldly point of view however, Christ took his sin so that he may become the righteousness in God and live for eternity. So at this time celebrate with me by taking this small token of reflection to give praise to the one who gave us all life, life in eternity.


Lets pray,
Heavenly father, never will we understand the sacrifice you gave on the cross, yet we wish to show our gratitude. Some day we will meet our physical end but on that day we will rejoice for then we will truly understand life. It is in your wonderful and mighty name of your son that we pray.

Amen.

A Fool's Hope

Lord of The Rings is a wonderful story. In fact I believe it to be one of the greatest fantasy books ever written (even though it is in the sci-fi section). Through out the story one of the characters, the great wizard Gandalf, calls a thoughtless hobbit named Pippin a fool. The poor idiotic hobbit doesn’t seem to do the wisest things and then Gandalf repeatedly calls him a fool. In the third installment, Return of the King, Pippin seeks refuge in his beloved leader Gandalf just before the great battle of the story. “Is there any hope?” and the wizard smiles and replies “only a fool's hope.”

The week that’s past I spent with family in a pleasant setting nestled in the Ozarks of Missouri. Much reminded me of my home away from home in Knoxville. This town had small rolling mountains for skyscrapers and small stores flooded with proud Yankees. Yes, this town has a name; it is Branson. I wondered for weeks leading up to our trip why we would waste our time in such a boring place and even now believe other trips we have ventured on seemed better. In the end I must confess that the week proved better then I had anticipated or imagined. While on the trip, we met as a family for church. During this small gathering we ventured on to the topic of what we hope for. My father led the discussion and asked us what we hope for. My cousins gave their answers that included graduation and marriage, all that jazz. When everyone’s eyes fell on me I threw out the simple answers; graduation, success in family, and eventually teach. I really wish for these hopes to pass yet I felt that those were not the most important answers to give.

In my last post I ventured into the realm of self-doubt. Self-doubt about whether or not ministry is my true calling in life. Last night I think God spoke through one of my friends to me. Several of my friends and I went to a field in the middle of nowhere. While gazing at the endless above I found myself wondering into a deep conversation with the same girl as in my previous post. This time around she helped me, and pointed something out to me. I disclosed the struggle in my head about my doubt. I told her of my fear that I may kill a church or be a horrible leader, and not be able to help people. I’ve seen all this done. I do not remember the exact words she said at that moment, for I have had a serious lack of sleep since then, but her words comforted me. She then also shared her greatest spiritual weakness with me. Later that early morning we talked about the marvel of God’s creation. She said she could look at a swarm of gnats and see the amazing knowledge and power of God. “Who else could have thought of something so small yet know its grave purpose.” I was amazed at how she could see God and his power in something so minute. That got me wondering. Is what I choose to do for an occupation going to change the course of God’s will? I think not. Whether I chose architecture or Vocational ministry Christ will return precisely when he means too. All I have to consider is, am I living as Christ would will me to live? Do my actions gratify God? I choose ministry not because God revealed himself to me in some burning bush but because this servant hood will help me to be the best man of God I could possibly be. I’m just along for the ride on what ever experiences God may, and will throw my way on such a choice.

I don’t really know for sure why Gandalf answered Pippin the way he did but I can only imagine that in the heart of a foolish and thoughtless hobbit also lies the will to be victorious in what may seem as, an impossible battle to win. I am a foolish and thoughtless human that never quite gets it, yet because of my hope I can stand firm in my decision to become a minister.

So now I thank you friend, thank you for your words and wisdom in realizing your place in the massive and wonderful creation of God. You may never know the weight that carried with last night’s conversation. Thank you. The next time a person asks me what some of my hopes are I can answer them with this; I hope and pray that God will give me experiences that will change my life into being more like my rabbi

Missing Something?

Today I had an awakening. While driving a friend home the matters of a previous relationship came up. She had just broken up with her boyfriend and even though it was for the best, she confessed a sustaining love for him. As she continued her story a previous experience arose with several of her friends and the summer intern. She went over a discussion that they all had and how they fell into each other’s confidence and revealed their struggles of their lives. Now because of my lack of understanding of women I’m not sure but I think she may have wanted to have a similar conversation as the other night, but with me. While she was telling this story some of the things the intern said made me wish that I could have the ability to council like he did. He called them out on issues unknown to me and because of his tact he was able to help the girls. I wish and pray that I may be as effective as him some day.

Yesterday my father had his men’s Bible Study over so I sat in on the study. The chapter out of their chosen study material covered divorce. What started as a common discussion broke into a counseling session for one of the men who happens to have troubles in his marriage. Taken back by the severity of the situation I did not know how to help him or what to do even. I know that I am only 20 and at this time lack the education that would help but even still, I wanted to help him and try to solve his problem.

If anyone in the world has read any of my past blogs they know that I am going into the ministry and will most likely council several people in my life. For these two examples I feel as if I failed them in some way. Either not being there as a friend or not knowing how to handle the situation I missed two wonderful opportunities to minister and shepherd. Failure in situations that arise such as these two force me to wonder if I am cut out for the ministry. Are my insecurities getting in the way of my pastoral future? I don’t know.

I can recall several failures in my past such as, school, relationships, or sinful desires. The fear of failure lingers on several minds. People try to run from their failure and get caught in an endless abyss of disappointment. And I guess the question on my mind is will I fail in my service to God as a minister for his bride? Is there something that I’m missing that could help me be a better man of God? Some days I desire preaching and others I’m terrified of it. Did I miss God’s call to something else? These questions remain in my head and can shake the foundation of my reality. It comes down to, do I really want to do this, and am I missing something?

So for two years now I have continuously been praying for God to prepare me for the path that I have chosen; to train my mind for servant hood and my heart for compassion. I made a promise to God that this is what I will do, and I WILL NOT break that oath. Lord, help with my insecurities and shortcomings and work on my heart and mind to transform it into an effective servant for your kingdom. Amen.