I’m pooped…

I do not want to be confused with this (first) gift from Bev Worley in celebration of Jonathan’s birth…

I had great plans to rest some this week.  I’m running (Lord willing) the Chicago Marathon on Sunday, October 9th (my idea of a personal vacation).  I was going to hydrate, rest and heal up from the soreness of a few months of training.  Well, between some stubborn kidney stones in my wife and some unplanned (long, but not with stubborn people) meetings, the week has not gone according to plan.

What I’ve been left with, however, is better.  The chance to serve my great wife is better than rest and a good pace.  I run alongside her for life, and being given the privilege to do that in close proximity while she’s been ill is blessing.  Keep praying for her complete healing, as the plan is to have another procedure within the month.

I’m encouraged…

We had a fairly long Church Conference (Member Meeting) on Wednesday night to discuss the potential sale of some church property.  These things (church land & finances) can be the source of great contention in a local church.  What I found in our body last night was a desire to reach people for Christ, even if we differ on means and/or methods.  The body just kept pressing toward the sense that God is drawing our attention to our mission to focus on the most immediate mission field…The University of Arkansas and the Wilson Park Community.  It’s exciting that in the midst of dealing with some fairly hefty temporal matters that the church body has eyes that are being lifted up to eternal things.

I’m sad…

While in the meeting last night, word came down that Steve Jobs, co-founder and leader of Apple, died due to his battle with pancreatic cancer.  I say “I’m sad” simply because I have appreciate Jobs’ creativity (and products) for years.  In him, like a great athlete, we can see something of that imaging of God in skill, beauty, creativity, and the use of them for the (potential) good of others.  We call this “common grace.”  It’s called “common” because it’s not relegated to those who are believers.

However, in the midst of all the creative goodness, we have little to no indication that Jobs had experience “special grace.”  We call it “special” not because those who receive are special and merit such a gift; rather, we call it thus because only through the special revelation of the Scriptures do we find the Truth that leads to saving grace.  For Jobs, while he understood much of death, may have never understood what it meant to live.

I’m hopeful…

Fatigue has a way of draining me of enthusiasm and a sense of hope.  But nothing can drag my hope out of me.  My hope is Christ.  I will travel to Chicago knowing that my only hope is Christ.  I do not trust my legs, my lungs, my bank account…because I do not run for an earthly prize; I will not always breathe this polluted air; I cannot purchase something that’s already been bought for me…Christ is my all in all.

Therefore, I know that as the body gathers in my absence this week that His renown will continue on and our mission will remain steadfast, because He is that way…He is always glorifying Himself in the midst of His people gathered (and scattered).  Regardless of where He leads us in the selling (or not) of property, my hope lies in the God who gave us a universe to blow our minds at His breadth and magnificence.  You know, whatever the case with personal goals or church-wide visions, I just want to proclaim Him, having known Him among you…Christ and Him Crucified.