Little People

Today I was inspired to spend a little more time with my children. So we brought out the Little People. I was amazed at the depths of imagination that little plastic horses, unicorns, farms, dinosaurs, planes, and zoo trains could unravel. It caused me to marvel at the creativity of our heavenly father a little more as well.

The thing that really got me though was the amount of joy on my children's faces as I, their earthly father spent a little time with them telling stories, putting cities together, and acting out their favorite scenes. I realized just how important it was that we spend time with our heavenly father. HE is always there, ready to share in our victories, our sorrows, and the day-to-day of life.

Our heavenly father is also at work constructing a heavenly city for us. One we will be called to through faith in Christ Jesus. How much joy this thought brings to my face. I hope that it will do the same for you.

On Jesus and Bin Laden

I found a picture of Jesus washing the feet of various world leaders, including Bin Laden. This made me stop and ponder a few things. Namely about justice, heavenly grace, and my need for the latter.

The death of Osama Bin Laden caused me to think a bit today on the notion of justice. I believe a bit of justice was served with Bin Laden's death. Perhaps, (as I believe) the role of temporal government is to insure that justice is granted to those who have been victimized under legal statutes. The wrongdoer punished as they say.

But what about the role of heavenly justice? For me, I have chosen to believe in a faith that offers both absolute mercy and absolute justice. For me, this "contradictory" fulfilment is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Those who do wrong including myself can be forgiven because Christ has paid the penalty for our transgression. If this is true then hopefully the way I relate to others reflects this belief without hypocrisy, malice, or falsehood.

This led me to another thought. What would my reaction to this news have been if I had learned that Bin Laden had converted to Christianity before his death? Would I have looked forward to seeing him in heaven as the heavenly father would have? Would I rejoice over his conversion as the angels certainly would have? The fact that I cannot answer definitively "yes" on these questions reminds me that I am still in need of God's grace and mercy.