Dear Members and Friends of St. John,
I
have been in Florida for the celebration of my dad’s 90th
birthday. We had a nice turnout of
family and friends who gathered on Saturday afternoon, September 23, to
celebrate with him. One of my dad’s
friends is Larry Christian, who worked with him at General Electric and has
been his financial advisor with Raymond James for a number of years. Larry highly respects my dad and asked us if
he could help with the costs of the party.
At Dad’s party I thanked Larry for his help. He replied, “I just wanted to see how a man
makes it to 90 years old like your dad did.
What I see is a loving family and regular exercise.” I replied, “My dad’s faith life is a big part
of his health too.”
For
those who don’t know, my mom and dad had 5 children. My mom passed away about 6 years ago, but all
five children were present at Dad’s party, along with many grandchildren and
great grandchildren. My dad has also
exercised and worked out regularly for over 20 years. For the last few years when I have visited I
have gone with him on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings at 5:00 a.m. to
the local gym where he does some cardio work and lifts weights each visit. Larry was seeing those obvious blessings of
family and physical health.
Actually,
Larry had previously worked with my dad and also knew his faith, not so much
from his words but more so from his life.
My dad has led his family in regular worship and participation in our
local Lutheran Christian congregation.
People around my dad saw his faith in how he lived, and how he worked.
What
does give a person good health? It would
be presumptuous to say there is one answer to that question about health. But I believe my dad has found some answers
to health that even doctors would agree with.
Physical health, social health, and spiritual health lead a person to
overall health.
In
this world, damaged by sin, there is no absolute answer to health. Just because a person takes care of
themselves does not necessarily mean they will live a long life. Accidents happen. Illnesses like cancer and heart disease
occur. Relationship struggles
happen. But, when we choose healthy
lifestyles it helps us to meet those challenges of life.
I am
also convinced that taking care of our relationship with God then gives
direction in other areas of healthy living.
After Jesus talked to the people of His day about length of life and
about physical provision, He then told those people, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things
shall be added to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)
Our
life is a gift from God who created us, who sustains us, and who saves us
through faith in Jesus for eternity.
Taking care of a healthy relationship with our Heavenly Father gives us
health and priorities as we face the trials of life. In fact, as Jesus says, if we first seek God,
He takes care of the rest. That care
happens through the difficulties of life in this world. That care of God happens when we have made
some bad choices, but God reaches out in grace and forgiveness through Jesus to
restore us. That care and love of God is
given eternally by our gracious Lord.
So,
how do I grow health in my life? We need
to ask ourselves this question because disaster, illness, and death are all
around us and are part of life. From my
dad’s long life I believe he found his answer in these words of Jesus. “Seek
first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things shall be added to
you as well.”
May
your relationship with God bring you spiritual, relational, and physical
health.
A Child of God, Seeking Health through My relationship
with God,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Here are some
pictures from the celebration of my dad’s 90th birthday in FL. https://photos.app.goo.gl/QOj2riPTdCZK14mc2
******
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 do not want to receive this
e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for
this message.
******
No comments:
Post a Comment