Oliver Twist and the Kingdom of God

Fishing Report: Good for the boys, bad for dad.

Man is it hot 93 and humidity that is like a thick wet towel. Man I love summer wouldn't have it any other way. I am so thankful for the air conditioning at night it really makes the heat that much more enjoyable because you know that you have a cool place to sleep.

I don't know where we are going this weekend it is supposed to be hot and humid and some storms. But I know where God is leading us. We are traveling down a road to a understanding of redemption of sorts. I am redeem but I am only beginning to learn what it truly means. The parables from Matthew 13 come to mind. It says the Kingdom of God is a great treasure and a man was willing to sell everything to gain this treasure. I realize that Jesus is making the point that the Kingdom is the greatest treasure you could receive and is worth everything. But, I wonder if we are willing to give everything up to experience the Kingdom in its fullness. When we take our kids somewhere and if we go the budget route the kids don’t get to see what all the bells and whistles are like, are we like that with our commitment to Christ and His Kingdom. Are we doing the budget plan with our Christian walk and only experiencing the base model of the Kingdom.

Then again, I think there is another way to look at this parable and I may be a bit off in my theology but it seems to me that God the Father was willing to give everything up to purchase us for the Kingdom. What a redemption, we were bought with a price so high and ransomed to experience the greatness of God. I often have wondered what it must be like to go from leading our life one day and wake up the next day to find we have been rescued from our humble existence and place into a world of wealth and privileged. I hope someday to know what that is like or maybe I can experience that through someone else.

We know someone that is adopting a little girl from the Horn of Africa. That little girl will go to bed one night alone in this world, alone in the worst part of this world and the next day will be whisked away, ransomed, bought with a price, a price that she may never understand the full gravity of, but then she will know a life that she could not even dreamed of, the very next day. The Bible is clear that we are joint heirs with Christ within the kingdom of God. Much like the little girl that is coming home to the states will be an heir to that family’s inheritance. Romans 8:17 says “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ…” If we have that kind of identity than we should act like we belong to the family of God, the little girl coming to the States will make the transition to being part of a family and being an American, she will no longer be a citizen of her home country nor will she be an orphan any longer.

We need to get over the excuses of I act this way because my dad… or my family used to…. It is time that we made a change and acted like we belong to the King and that we have our identity at our heavenly home. Not some identification with a brand name or a sport’s franchise but with Christ our co-heir. Wow, what a difference that would make if we would be able to show grace to those around us, like has been shown by the Father. We are Oliver Twist in many ways and we need to stand up and act like who we are. Because one day it will be revealed who we are, just like Oliver Twist we are heirs to great riches but we live like poor thieves.

Saturday mornings are one of the best times of the weeks. This morning it rained 2.5 inches in about 90 minutes, so I guess that mowing and fishing are out. The kids are slowing arising from slumber, making their way into the living room sleepy-eyed and looking a little wiped out. We had a late night at a birthday party. They seemed to enjoy themselves no matter where we take them. I wish as an adult I had the same attitude and thought of everything as a new experience. I believe as we age we become more and more callused to the world and only want to do what we deem to be fun or profitable, never taking in to account that we may we enjoy something if we give it a chance. I think it is the same principle with people. There are people that we don’t want to spend time with maybe it is because we want to go do something else, maybe we don’t agree with their life style and the choices they have made, or maybe we just don’t want to take the time.

My wife has been reading a book about loving like Christ. Christ never didn’t make time for people, all people not just His friends and people He wanted to hang out but with the people we as modern-day Christian tend to shy away from. Matthew 5 says this: 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

I don’t think of the enemies in this passage as people who hate me but as people I don’t care to be around because they irritate me or I know they believe differently than I. Maybe I am their enemy because I am not reaching out to them. It is quite clear that Christ is saying get up off your hind end and make an effort we don’t have to nor are we commanded to lead people to Christ but we are command to love people and show them Christ. It is up to them to choose to follow Christ. I am a Calvinist and believe that God has already chose who will come to Him, that being said we do not know and we need to give everyone the opportunity to hear “The Message”.

Now then to the fishing report: 2 rather large bluegill and had a large 4# + largemouth break off. Rough time with the bucket mouth but what fun with the 6 weight. I need to start tying my own flies, I now see the need to “match the hatch”, plus I need a lot more sizes.

Next post I am going to tackle the issue of “Communicating with your Spouse”. I should be able to address that topic in about 2-3 short sentences or maybe 2 or 3 volumes of encyclopedias. Have a great weekend.

Self Controll and a Good Walk

What a time my family and I had hiking in western Indiana. Pine Hill Nature Preserve does prove that Indiana has topography. It is a must see if you are passing through, it is not the Grand Canyon or the Grand Tetons, but it is quite beautiful for the Midwest. I was reminded of the glory and beauty God has created for us to enjoy. It brings to mind Psalms 96:6 "Splendor and Majesty are before Him, Strength and Beauty are in His sanctuary." God has granted us beauty and splendor in nature and it is a reflection of Him and the grace He has imparted to us. Many times as we wandered the backbone ridges and narrow canyons, I realized that God's greatness was far more vast than I could comprehend. Seeing my children excited about creation was great. They were inspired by the fossils they found laying along the streams and by the brilliant colors of the fungi that grew along the path.

Traveling with the crew can be a test of your self control as well. We have a smallish crossover and it is a bit cramped but with gas more than $4/gallon it make sense to be a good steward and be a little closer than the kids like. Self control is such a tenuous practice you have it one minute and the next it is out the window and you look like a crazed parent to passersby. I have been studying on the sin we pass down to our children and if we lack self-control guess what, they will be just like us. Luke 17 says this "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come." I hated to hear this the other day because I realized that it was me that was bringing the bad example of sin into there lives. Titus 2:11 & 12 teach us to say NO to ungodliness and live with self-control in this age. There you have it lack of self-control is ungodly and it is common in this age. So we are to practice self-control with our kids and spouse but how? We are good at keeping calm at work on a daily basis, but why not at home. I believe we want peace and calmness at home and when things go "wrong" we lash out at the ones we care for the most, not because we are blaming them but because we have not learned to release our frustration about our daily lives in a way that "Protects" our family.

That brings me to my final thought. Fly-fishing, time alone with your kids and quality alone time with your wife are the keys (at least for me). Make sure that your screen time is limited in the evening is what I have learned (that doesn't mean I always follow this rule), think of all of the unedifying things we read on the web and see on the news not to mention the so called entertainment on the television. I have read in the Word that all things are allowable (lawful) but not all things are profitable or edifying (build up, establish or strengthen a person). So have an edifying evening and if you have time spend the evening with out the box and with the family.