BENEDICTION

Isaiah 39:1-41:16; Ephesian1:1-23; Psalm 66:1-20; Proverbs 23:25-28

“Yes, the Sovereign Lord is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.  He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young…. O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.  He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.  Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”

“So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.  He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.”

“Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me.  For I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke.  If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer. Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me.”

“O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes delight in my ways of wisdom.”

Today my son graduates from law school, and last night we celebrated my father’s 80^th birthday. I have much to be thankful for and many memories to cherish. But mainly, as I look backward and forward, I am simply amazed at how the Lord has sustained our family, sometimes even in spite of ourselves. There have been – and are – scary and tough times in God’s plan for us. There has been alienation and forgiveness, anger and joy, frustration and peace, and new birth and death. But somehow, in ways we did not, and still may not, understand or even comprehend, the Lord has kept us all safe and together. At this family reunion of sorts, I marvel at how the hand of divine providence has touched each of us over the years. More, I would give each of us reasons to feel encouraged about our future, as uncertain as the present seems. We all need to pause and reflect on how our heavenly Father has moved us in ways that brought us closer together and closer to Him. We need to know, and remind ourselves, that His plans are always for good, even when they don’t feel like it.

So, to my Dad: You are the family patriarch! Under all the teasing, and in spite of the occasional pontification, you have led us with wisdom and the best of intentions from the start. Even if I had nothing else to thank you for or remind you of, I could point to your incredible example of how a man should cherish his bride. (Mom, stay with me on this.) Dad, you’ve helped me establish in my own family one true nonnegotiable: husbands must not just love their wives; they must also adore them, and there is a difference. Even when you fuss at Mom, there is never any doubt (in my mind, at least) that you know exactly where you would be without her, and it ain’t pretty. Our wives really are our better halves! They are the Spirit’s buffer between us and a world that continues to tell us we will never be good enough, strong enough, wise enough or handsome enough to be a critical part of anyone else’s life. Our wives remind us we matter, even when everything around us seems to indicate the contrary.

But man-to-man, your greatest gift has been your example of simple perseverance. You probably never knew how closely I have watched you struggle over the years. You always did your best to hide it. But truth wins outs, and besides, God and your sons (and even your grandkids) had a greater need. We (not God) had a need to know the world is not always fair, and how to respond when it isn’t. Right does not always triumph, at least in the short term. We needed to know how to handle adversity, how to overcome, and how to maintain our integrity in the face of all that could have destroyed us. We needed a model of teachable humility, however reluctantly it developed. So, God used your struggles as our model, whether you liked it or not. At times, the model was sloppy, even ugly, as you and the Lord confronted your humanness. But together, you came out of the process reconciled, and that is the most important lesson a father can ever teach his kids. We have a heavenly Father who cares, who will provide and sustain. Maybe He does not always do so in the ways we expect or desire. We certainly have to play our part, and that usually means some kind of sacrifice. But actually, when it comes right down to it, our present struggles give us reason to hope for the future. Because even in the midst of adversity, we can choose to stand. We have the capacity to bear the sacrifice, and there is a Power greater than ourselves that will help, if we allow it. The key is, again, humble reconciliation to the ways of Christ, like it or not. You showed me that, eventually. That is your gift to me, and to us.

To my son: As “backhanded” an opportunity as what you presently face may be, understand that it is, nevertheless, an opportunity. Use this time to learn more about how to persevere and overcome as a man. Learn from your grandfather, and your father. Recognize and forgive our mistakes; claim our victories for yourself; and pray for wisdom enough to know the difference. Open your heart to gain wisdom from adversity. Above all, cherish your wife – she is your sanctuary.

We all understand this is a spooky time, especially for attorneys. But God has brought you both this far, and He did not teach you to swim to let you drown. Yeah, you may have to tread water for a time. But that’s not drowning, however it may feel. Take some time this weekend to recognize you really are surrounded by support and grace, not adversity. Adversity cannot penetrate the hedge of love with which we and Christ surround you – unless you allow it. You know in your heart of hearts what it means to have Jesus carry you. Lean ever more heavily on Him. Decide to consciously and intentionally claim grace and power and optimism on a daily basis, and live like you know what that means. Need we remind you how the Lord saved you, literally, right from the womb? He has a plan for your life, and just because it may be murky right now does not make it any less real or immediate.

Do not look in life for what you want to do. Want to do what Christ has planned for you. And persevere. Learn from experience and practice that it is possible to simply say no to fear. It is never easy, but it is possible. Because you know how to love, you know how to say no to fear. Perfect love casts out fear. You get that; do not forget it in the midst of your present situation.

As compared to biological relatives, “family” does not just happen, any more than the universe itself just happened. We should all give thanks that the Creator of the whole universe saw fit to create, love and bind us together. He has allowed us to learn, even when that included turning our backs on Him. But look around the room now. He’s here, right where He’s always been, in the middle of everything. Whether we acknowledge Him or not, only He could have brought us this far. And we will only get to the next point in the journey He has planned for us as we reconcile ourselves to, and trust in, his unknowable ways. I have unquenchable hope for the future because I know our entire family will be together eternally with the One who saved us all. That, my friends, is a very big deal – the biggest deal of all – to me.