What a Blessing
My grandfather, on my mother’s side, was an incredible father-figure to me. When I was young (approximately 8-10), my mother and I spent our summers with him and my grandmother while my dad was away in military service. My grandfather taught me what hard work looked like. He taught me what it was like to be a good husband and father. He taught me what it meant to be a layman in the life of the church by leading the worship music in the small Baptist church that we attended when we stayed with him.
Unfortunately, when I was a young student preparing for ministry, he died. With clarity, I remember the visitation at the funeral home when my grandfather’s second wife (my grandmother had died a few years earlier) came up to me at the casket, reached into my grandfather’s hand, and gave me the red New Testament they were going to bury with him. “He won’t be needing this where he is,” she said. That Bible sits on a shelf in my library at home. It is a prized possession.
My grandparents had six children, four daughters and two sons. One son died as a young boy from an unknown illness. The other son is now in his 90’s and functioning well. He is the spitting image of my grandfather. Spending most of his working life as a bi-vocational employee of the local electric company and pastor of small churches in the area, he also sang lead tenor in a gospel quartet that toured churches all over south Georgia. His children and I seldom see each other now, but if we did, we could pick up our relationships right where we left off.
To meet my uncle is to meet my grandfather. Physically, emotionally, and spiritually, they are so much alike that it is amazing. Now I could tell you a lot more about my grandfather, but if you really want to know him, you need to go and meet his son. To get to know him is like having a personal relationship with my grandfather. What a blessing that would be.
“but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” - Hebrews 1: 2-3 ESV.
When God spoke to us about His love for us and a desire to have a relationship with us, He came himself. He took on human form and revealed to us the exact nature of who He is. Jesus is the very image of God, a human reflection of the Divine Creator. To know Jesus is to know the Father. To know Jesus is to have a personal relationship with God. What a blessing.
As much as I hate to admit it, my grandfather was not perfect, nor was his son. My uncle was like my grandfather, but he was not my grandfather. My uncle reflected much of my grandfather, but his image was not complete because he was just another man. Jesus, however, is the perfect representation of the heavenly Father. There is no difference. To know one is to know the other because they are one in the same. Praise God for coming Himself. What a blessing.
Prayer: Father, teach me to live so that others see You in me.
Unfortunately, when I was a young student preparing for ministry, he died. With clarity, I remember the visitation at the funeral home when my grandfather’s second wife (my grandmother had died a few years earlier) came up to me at the casket, reached into my grandfather’s hand, and gave me the red New Testament they were going to bury with him. “He won’t be needing this where he is,” she said. That Bible sits on a shelf in my library at home. It is a prized possession.
My grandparents had six children, four daughters and two sons. One son died as a young boy from an unknown illness. The other son is now in his 90’s and functioning well. He is the spitting image of my grandfather. Spending most of his working life as a bi-vocational employee of the local electric company and pastor of small churches in the area, he also sang lead tenor in a gospel quartet that toured churches all over south Georgia. His children and I seldom see each other now, but if we did, we could pick up our relationships right where we left off.
To meet my uncle is to meet my grandfather. Physically, emotionally, and spiritually, they are so much alike that it is amazing. Now I could tell you a lot more about my grandfather, but if you really want to know him, you need to go and meet his son. To get to know him is like having a personal relationship with my grandfather. What a blessing that would be.
“but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” - Hebrews 1: 2-3 ESV.
When God spoke to us about His love for us and a desire to have a relationship with us, He came himself. He took on human form and revealed to us the exact nature of who He is. Jesus is the very image of God, a human reflection of the Divine Creator. To know Jesus is to know the Father. To know Jesus is to have a personal relationship with God. What a blessing.
As much as I hate to admit it, my grandfather was not perfect, nor was his son. My uncle was like my grandfather, but he was not my grandfather. My uncle reflected much of my grandfather, but his image was not complete because he was just another man. Jesus, however, is the perfect representation of the heavenly Father. There is no difference. To know one is to know the other because they are one in the same. Praise God for coming Himself. What a blessing.
Prayer: Father, teach me to live so that others see You in me.
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