1. On New Year's Day we celebrated my youngest grandson's 2nd birthday. All was going well between the grandkids UNTIL it came time for the presents. One of the first gifts little Lucas opened was a little train set. His cousin, Logan, who had just turned two on November 1st, received the same train set for his birthday. So when he saw it ... he made a play for it. "Mine!" he shouted as he grabbed the train. But Lucas was in no mood to share his brand new train. "Mine!" he shouted back, clinging to his new toy. At this point, parents got involved and restored order and the party went on.
As you well know, little children do not need to be taught to be self-centered (as this incident and so many others reveal). Rather parents must teach them to share and think about others rather than thinking about themselves. Why is this? Because all of us are born into this world as sinners. We are broken people right from the start. So we need fixing. And ultimately the only one who can fix us is the one who made us, God himself! Wonderfully and gloriously God provides the fix we all need. He does so in His Son, Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul writes that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation (2 Corinthians 7:17). And he tells us in his letter to the church in Philippi that the "fix" God started in us is not done yet - but he will one day finish what he has begun! (Philippians 1:6).
My friend, has God started his work in you? Are you numbered among those who are "in Christ?" If you are not sure ... if you have any question about this ... please take a moment to check out Two Ways to Live: The Choice We All Face. It could prove to be the most important few minutes of your life!
2. Last Friday (the 29th), I noticed that my sister Bev's birthday popped up on my Facebook birthday feed. It caught me off guard, as my sister passed away four Christmases ago. Once I gathered my thoughts, I reflected a bit on her life. About 7 years or so before her death, she had moved to North Carolina to be near her daughter. Since she did not drive and had poor health, our time together was via phone calls and text messages. In the August prior to her passing, at the prompting of my wife (and the Spirit of God) I offered to drive my other sister down to NC to visit Bev. We had a brief, but good visit. Little did we know as we waved good bye we would never see our sister again (at least in this life).
All of this reminds me of just how important relationships are. My sister and I did not always see "eye to eye" and our sister-brother relationship could have been a lot better. But at the end of the day she was (and always will be) my sister. I am so grateful to God that he (and my wife) encouraged me to clear a few days from my busy schedule to make that drive south. Otherwise, I would have regretted not doing so to this day.
How about you? Is there a family member or close friend you need to reach out to? My wife always tells our grandkids, "People are more important than things." Good advice for them. Good counsel for us!
Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj
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