On Easter Sunday
my Florida family gathered for lunch. We
were not able to get together last year because of COVID. But, I have a picture of the 25 people who
shared the meal this year. All my
siblings, my 3 brothers and my sister, were present, along with many of their
children. But not everyone was
there. My brother David’s 3 daughters
were all present. But, not all of my
sister, Martha’s, children came to the meal.
And while both Stephen and James have daughters who were able to join
the family, not all of their daughters were present either. And, of course, my children and grandchildren
were all in Alaska. It is difficult to
travel from Alaska to Florida for a one meal because of time and finances. Nevertheless, I cherish this family photo.
I also have
another group family picture from earlier this year. On January 24 all our children and
grandchildren graced our Alaska home to celebrate the birthdays of Joshua and
his wife, Erin, and also the birthday of our son Andrew. We have pictures of the 13 of us standing
around our living room couch. Kathy and
I treasure these times and are thankful for the love we share.
I have other such
pictures of our family gathered for a meal, and gathered to share the faith and
love we have. I believe that my mom’s
favorite times were when all her children and grandchildren would all get
together. My mom died January 17,
2011. The last picture we have of a
large family gathering before my mom’s death was from July of 2010 as we
celebrated her birthday. I also have
pictures from the celebration of my dad’s last birthday, his 90th,
on September 23, 2017. All his children
and many of his grandchildren, including 2 of my children, were able to be
present. Kathy and I can only dream that
our parents would have met their grandchildren, and that her parents and my
parents would have joined a family gathering.
These memories, and these pictures, are precious.
But, my question
is WHEN will we be together at the same time?
When will my Alaska family and my Florida family all be in the same
place at the same time? When will all my
siblings children and my children, my grandchildren and my nephews and nieces,
all spend time together? When will we
all be able to share and joke with each other?
When will we share food and stories?
And, what about my New England family, and Kathy’s Memphis family, and
Spokane family?
Last Sunday our family
meal was a part of our celebration of Jesus’ Easter resurrection. The son of Mary, and Son of God, lived a
perfect life and therefore He did not need to die for any sins he had personally
committed. But, Jesus willingly died the
death of a criminal on the cross, and then He rose from the dead three days
later. Jesus’ Easter victory offers eternal
life to the whole world, through faith.
But, as I think about all my family pictures, Jesus’ rising from the
grave offers something more.
Kathy and I are
both faithfully reading Scripture in daily devotions. As Kathy has been reading in Numbers and Deuteronomy
she noticed God’s description of death, which He shares with Moses. God tells Moses, “There on the mountain that you have climbed you
will die and be gathered to your
people, just as your brother
Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered
to his people.” (Deuteronomy 32:50) For children of God, our Lord Himself
describes death as a “gathering to our people.”
That sounds like a BIG reunion!
What is even
better is that we have another member of our family, or better stated, we are
part of HIS family. When we receive the
gift of eternal life, when we are in heaven, we are . . . with Jesus! Jesus teaches His disciples in John 14, “2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were
not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be
with me that you also may be where I am.” (John
14:2-3) In heaven we are . . . with Jesus!
The reunion includes our Lord!
Also, on the night Jesus was betrayed He prayed for His
followers, and He prayed for us, "Father,
I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory,
the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the
world.” (John 17:24) Jesus prays that we may be WITH Him, and see
His divine glory. When we are in heaven,
when we are “gathered to our people,” we are with Jesus.
Finally, in Revelation
21, as John learns about our eternal dwelling, He writes what he saw and
heard. “And I heard a loud voice from the
throne saying, "Now the dwelling of
God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be
their God.” (Revelation 21:3) When we are in heaven, when we are “gathered
to our people,” God is with us, and we are with Him.
I am thankful for
the gatherings which bless our earthly family.
I do hope for possibly even larger reunions, where all our family can be in the same place at the same time. But, God’s
description of heaven teaches of a bigger reunion, where “we are gathered to
our people,” and where God is part of that gathering. What a GREAT party that will be!
A Child of God, Thankful
for Family Gatherings, Looking Forward to our Heavenly Reunion,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Here are some family group pictures from 2021.
·
Our Florida Easter family celebration. https://photos.app.goo.gl/B4tp4QWXA9nUpfi76
·
Our Alaska January birthday celebration. https://photos.app.goo.gl/WbqoVwHZNLmwX1D7A
P.P.S. Here are some family pictures from previous
gatherings.
·
My Dad’s 90th birthday party,
September 23, 2017, https://photos.app.goo.gl/hJ81NqEHMoyfELYt8
·
The last time my mom and dad were together with
all the kids, July 2010. https://photos.app.goo.gl/pxugZZhUHZwkQY6i8
P.P.P.S. Kathy and I did some yard work last week. We removed bushes from the front of our
condo. Here are a couple of
pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/UYZW1FGKqNkivYBY9
P.P.P.P.S. I did do a little fishing again this week. Surprise!
·
On Thursday, April 1, I went fishing with
brother-in-law, Mark Reaves. Kathy had
told me “no more fish” unless we have a fish fry. Well, on April 25, with Jake and Emma
visiting, we are having a family fish fry.
Here are fish from April 1. https://photos.app.goo.gl/q2AMxjVrDjgpwYfRA
·
I went fishing with brother, Stephen, on Friday,
April 1. We started at 7:00 a.m. with
the temperature at 44, and the wind blowing strong. We battled the wind ALL DAY, and returned to
white caps! 2 bites – NO fish!
·
On Tuesday, April 6, Kathy accompanied me as I
went fishing. I caught 3 bass, and 2 mud
fish (which I threw back), but it took a while (8 hours). We did cause a gator to move, and we saw a
manatee. https://photos.app.goo.gl/e8uxME2BMbuF8iDv6
*****
ABOUT
THIS DEVOTION - I retired at the end of August 2019 from serving as senior
pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer, AK. I was writing a weekly
devotion previously entitled, "Thoughts from the Pastor."
When I retired many asked me to continue writing these devotions. So I have continued writing. However, with life's changes I now call this
weekly devotion "Journeys Through Life as a Child of God."
Since
I am no longer senior pastor at St. John, I felt it right to only send
this message to those who asked to receive it. (Though I am now serving
again part-time at St. John as assistant to the pastor.) Perhaps you also know that I “killed” my
computer on November 7, 2020. In so
doing I lost, for a time at least, all my e-mail contacts. So, I was really goofed up. Many who were receiving this devotion each
week were no longer receiving it. I
tried to rebuild my distribution list, but I am not sure how accurate I have
been.
So, if you stopped receiving these
devotions and wondered why, now you understand.
And, if you are now receiving these devotions and do not wish to receive
them, please let me know, and I’ll gladly remove your name from my distribution
list. My e-mail address is
jonrock53@mtaonline.net.
My prayer is that these devotions
help each of you in your daily walk with our Lord, Jesus.
*******
Jonathan Rockey
Child of God
Husband, Father,
Son, Grandfather
Pastor Emeritus,
St. John Lutheran Church
E-Mail: jonrock53@mtaonline.net
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