I wrote this over one week ago but am just getting to post it:
I have one friend currently in Ft. Lewis, Washington; he is training to become an elite soldier, and I miss him so deeply that it almost brings me to tears as I sit here alone with my coffee. I am with him in spirit. I have another friend in Ecuador doing construction to help the local Church there. I cannot wait until he comes home, but I am with him now in my thoughts and my prayers. My wife is 100 miles away visiting with and ministering to her family; I feel like half of me is missing from here, but I am still connected to her in my spirit. I pray for her safety as she travels home tomorrow. I also have friends less than 10 miles down the road at Georgia Tech. I wish that I could be with them now, encouraging them as they prepare for another week. But actually, I am with them, just not in my body. I pray for their focus to be on Our Father this week.
Satan seeks to separate us, not just physically, but spiritually. This theme is all through the Scriptures; it is his primary tactic in destroying the Church, and another friend in Louisiana just reminded me of that when he called to make sure that we did not grow apart because of the physical distance or the business of life. He has a beautiful knack for protecting against that. You see, we people can be miles apart or inches apart on this Earth, and we can be completely separated either way. I beg you as the voice of The Good Shepard: do not let the enemy separate you from the flock. It is then that he will find you vulnerable to his attacks. A severed limb dies because it does not get the precious blood that flows from the heart; this blood is what keeps it alive. However, one of the wonders of the body is that when a finger or even a whole limb gets severed from it, that part often lives if it is reattached quickly enough. Please, do not allow yourself to be severed, but if you do find yourself cut off, reconnect quickly and receive again the blood that gives life to this Body of Christ that is his Church.
1 comment:
Thanks for this reminder. I have a lot of trouble with this point. I tend to move from one relationship to the next like a field surgeon instead of bonding like family. It not only hurts my relationship with God, but my power to actually help people in a meaningful way. You could practically follow the failures in my life by that theme.
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