sarkakaiaima

My wife and I lived in Oregon for several years and developed a friendship with an older couple from our church. We enjoyed the time spent with them at their home. What we did not expect is just how much our dog “Max” was to enjoy these visits. They had chickens, dogs and Nubian goats. For some reason our dog immediately loved these goats and they loved him. He would recognize the property and get very excited when we arrived and the first thing he did was bolt from the car to go greet them. This was a very unlikely but wonderful bond between these animals. And it was instructive for us too.   As God “fathers” us he draws people of very diverse backgrounds and worldly interests into unlikely abiding fellowship and deepening commitment to love and care for one another. This is a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. This is evidence of the Kingdom of God being present on earth. As God “fathers” us he leads us to care for one another and to be fathers and mothers, brothers

The Lord’s discipline of his children is a gift even if it is painful to endure. The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews is a realist and thus is helpful for us I think. Even as he exhorts his readers he also exhibits empathy for them. Let us listen to this divine word! Certainly the Fathers’ discipline is experienced by us as unpleasant at the time we undergo it (Hebrews 12:11)! In fact, is it very unpleasant and even deeply painful to the point of taxing us to all our known limits! But this is because we are so disordered in our minds and our habits that God’s decisive interventions in our lives, even though they are designed for our good, are perceived as negative and painful. The problem lies in our perception of reality and of ourselves and of God.  This is why the promise stated in the text is so important to understand and remember. If we submit to the Father of spirits in faith we will later see that this act of sheer obedience yielded a great harvest spiritually—for one’