Dear Fellow Children of God,
I know
why parenting is most commonly for the young.
It is not that younger parents are necessarily wiser or more patient
than older parents or grandparents might be.
But, younger parents have more energy, and energy is really important
for guiding young children.
For
example, at
times Kathy and I will entertain our grandchildren. Sometimes Andy’s children, Jackson and
Kendall, will spend time at our home.
Sometimes Jake, Emma, Henry, and Anna, Josh and Erin’s children, will
visit. And, then there are the times
that Poppy and Mimi, or just Mimi, get to watch all 6! Wow!
There is energy in the house that I have trouble remembering in my own
life!!
All the grandchildren like popcorn, so I have often popped
popcorn for my grandchildren and put some in a bowl for each one. However, I am sometimes disappointed, but not
surprised, to watch one of them be stingy with their popcorn. Sometimes one child spills theirs and grabs
at the popcorn of their brother or sister.
I have even watched a child with a full bowl, snatch popcorn from their
siblings. But, seldom do I see one of my
young grandchildren wanting to share their popcorn with another.
There is always enough popcorn. I will make more. I often do pop more for them. They will have plenty and won’t run out of
their snack. But even when there is
plenty of popcorn the selfish nature in my grandkids (the grandchildren I am
sure are the best grandchildren in the world) leads them to be stingy and not
to share.
Sometimes we can be stingy with the grace of God given to
us in Jesus. God is generous with His
saving love in our lives. And, God wants
us to be willing to share His love, even though we sometimes struggle in
sharing.
For traditional churches, and at St. John, we are now in
the church season of Epiphany. The
Epiphany event is the arrival of the magi, men from foreign countries. These Gentiles worshiped the child Jesus. “Epiphany” also means to reveal or to
show. For the next 7 weeks in worship we
will see Jesus reveal that He is the promised Messiah, the Savior of the
world. But, especially in these early
Sundays in Epiphany, we will see people sharing this good news about Jesus. Or we will even hear Jesus Himself
encouraging His followers to tell others about who He is.
This Sunday, in our Gospel reading, we will see Andrew
sharing Jesus with His brother, Simon.
Next week we’ll hear Jesus tell His disciples that they will be “fishers
of men.” In a few weeks we will hear Jesus
tell the church that they are a light to the world and the salt of the
earth. God gives us His love graciously
and freely, and He calls us to be generous and gracious in sharing that love in
Jesus.
This is not just a New Testament teaching from the mouth
of Jesus. In the Old Testament reading for this Sunday God speaks through His
promised servant to the people of Israel.
Yes, the Messiah is prophesied for the Israelites. But this Savior is not only intended to bring
God’s love to Israel. "It is too small a thing for you to be
my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have
kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my
salvation to the ends of the earth." (Isaiah 49:6) Through God’s promised servant, in Jesus, God
will bring His saving love to “the ends
of the earth!”
Sometimes God’s people today have trouble sharing Jesus
with others. We may feel shy. We might think that some folks are not the
kind of person that God wants. Sometimes
we look like little children who don’t want to share their popcorn, hording God’s
grace for ourselves and being unwilling to share. God wants His love in Jesus to be proclaimed
to all, and to be shared personally with each person. "It is too small a thing for you to
be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I
have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my
salvation to the ends of the earth." (Isaiah 49:6)
Who do you know who needs the compassion, the
forgiveness, the direction, the hope of Jesus?
God calls you to be generous with His grace and love which He has given
you.
A Child of God, Called to Share God’s
Love with EVERYBODY,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. For the next 3 Sundays we will focus
intentionally on God’s call to share Jesus.
Using my doctoral work we will look at, “Sharing Jesus – God’s Plan”, “Sinners
and Saints – Sharing God’s Law, and Even more His Salvation,” and, “Sharing
Jesus Through Relationships.”
P.P.S.
Brooke Abbott, daughter of David and Allie Abbott, was baptized on January
8. Here is a picture from the
baptism. https://goo.gl/photos/VcF1ZJMkosGmyGW49
P.P.P.S. Here is a picture of our family from this past Christmas-time, including the grandchildren. As you can tell they are ALWAYS well behaved! https://goo.gl/photos/SrwFy9GF4F87aJ1A6
P P.P.P.S. I did go fishing on Monday, January 9. It was a beautiful, clear, cold day and a joy
to be outdoors. However, the fishing
results brought me ribbing on Facebook. Nevertheless,
here are the fishing pictures from last Monday.
https://goo.gl/photos/R8dGAV9kbkQ9yumb7
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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE
PASTOR’ - I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to
all St. John members and friends whose e-mails I have. (I am regularly
adding new names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this
e-mail for the first time.) However, if you don’t want to receive this
e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for
this message.
****
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