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In God’s Image

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And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (‭Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭26‬ KJV)

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There are many people I have come to admire over my life – people I know personally and those I just know of. Or maybe I should say there are types of people I admire, like teachers. Without them I wouldn’t be able to write these words and have some understanding of things. My sister is one. I also admire smart people. You know, those brainiacs who’ve discovered scientific this or that, developed medicines for diseases, or Jobs and Gates who propelled us into the world of computers and beyond. I’m not one of those types of people – don’t ask me to try to come up with anything like that because I don’t have the brain power. It’s not my gift.

There are other types of people on my “I Admire” list: single moms, abused anyone, military personnel, presidents. But in today’s post I want to focus on fathers.

It’s likely that when you read a Father’s Day post or hear a Father’s Day message in a Christian context, the writer or speaker will start by proclaiming God as THE Father, how He’s a father to the fatherless, the Father who loves us better than we love ourselves, etc. You’ve heard it. While all of these statements are certainly TRUE, it gets a little old after a while. God IS Father all the time and always will be. Why talk about Him as such just on Father’s Day? Well, this is just my opinion.

When THE Father (hee hee) created man (and woman for those who need that insert), the Word says He made him after His own likeness. What does that mean? If God is faithful, then should we believe that man was endowed to be faithful? If God is forgiving, can’t we also be?

If God AS Father is loving, is it fair to believe that earthly fathers should also strive to be loving? As God is…

There are a lot of fathers out there being and doing just as God called, whether they acknowledge it on a God level or not. There are some who can’t for whatever reason, and there are some who won’t, for whatever reason. I’m not here to judge, just to admire. Including my own…

My father is hardworking, firm, always there when needed. At his core, he is all heart and all God. He raised three daughters (hard work, sometimes), and now has three li’l grands who love him as Paw Paw. I’m thankful for the example of fatherhood Mr. Larry Tate has shown to my sisters and me, and to a few others along the way.

Happy Father’s Day to all dads!

In memory of Charles E. Graham, my Paw Paw.

Remembering Friends

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To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven… (‭Eccles‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬ KJV)

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I wasn’t planning to write this particular post this week, but sometimes we find our plans changed. Sometimes a day may bring news that shocks us to our core. So is life. So is God.

I have to admit that I’m not always the best at receiving change. I’m an organizer, very task-oriented, and a very keep-to-my-calendar type of person, even in casual settings. If I could plan texts I receive in a day, I would. That’s not good, is it? Don’t judge.

The biggest change to grapple, I think we all could agree, is when we find ourselves suddenly without someone. When death happens, that’s it. Someone isn’t here earthly any longer. When my grandmother’s days were limited and we knew she was dying, I had to wrap my mind around that moment that would come, when we’d receive the news that that’s it. It’s over. Done. She’s not coming back. It’s hard.

So I find myself as of the writing of this post realizing the recent deaths of friends. Change again. Though they weren’t family and though I didn’t see them daily, they’re still not here. Someone is without them, and I know they’re hurting.

In the midst of the heaviness felt when death comes, I pray for those who remain. For comfort, yes, but mostly, that an acknowledgement of God will come – to honor Him in believing that His will is supreme, and to thank Him for keeping His promise to those now gone.

Our times are ordered by God. No one arrives or leaves until He wills it. But before the leaving happens (and we never know when it will), love those He’s given you. Enjoy them, appreciate them. Remember them.

For Clyde, Mable, Shepard.

Photo credit: Melchee Johnson

Keep the Faith

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Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. (James 2:17 KJV)image

Here we are in another new start, in a brand new month. We have a new set of days, God willing, to welcome and embrace. Summer season is just ahead with its promises of fun and excitement.

But with all that we often have to look forward to, we can’t help but see what’s going on in the world. Images of violence, poverty, destruction, and death fill our news feeds seemingly 24/7. It’s hard to focus on fun and the good things of summer when there’s so much suffering.

I shared in a guest blog last week (read the full entry here) an experience in which I came face to face with, well,  life. My husband and I saw a man digging through a trash can searching for food. Yes, we helped him, but it was just a shock to me to actually see that. I hadn’t before. The meaning of grateful? Oh yeh, it changed for me that day.

Despite what I saw, and despite what we continue to see on the news and even in our own communities, we must keep the faith. We must believe God, walk by faith and not by sight, and know He’s in control. But there’s another part to it: not only must we have faith, but we must act on it. And I will add, as the Lord directs. I don’t think it’s possible to claim to be a person of faith and not practice it. Faith without action, states the Word, is dead. It has no worth. It does not prosper.

So, we put faith into action by giving, helping, sowing, encouraging, becoming, loving. I have a saying: you can’t have and then not give. It’s easy to get caught up in our own little worlds and the things that make us happy, like summer fun I mentioned above, and things, and stuff. But there’s a need you’ve been called to fill. When God brings you to it, act. When God brings you to it, not you trying to show everybody just how full of goodness you are. But that’s another post…

It didn’t take long for my husband and me to feel that stirring within us to help the man searching for food. We didn’t need to boast about it, we just did what needed to be done. Think of what this world would be like, how we’d all be changed, if we let our faith live and not die.

Amen.