So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”
So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”
He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”
So they said to him, “Who are you?”
Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.”
They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father.
So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”
As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
John 8:21-30
My Father God, in Heaven great,
We remembrance keep
Of fathers You have given us;
Today, though, many weep.
Countless tears right now are shed
For fathers in the grave.
Some the dirt atop still fresh
When life this week upgave.
Others in mind of fathers whom
Abandoned years ago.
Children who are missing them;
Their longing won’t let go.
Some have fathers who have failed
And brought unmeasured pain.
But their children love them still,
And love is ne’er in vain.
Then I think of men whose child
Left the fold of sheep.
These fathers’ hearts afflicted yet;
With prayer, they vigil keep.
What about the man who wants
To loving father be,
And share his overflowing heart
With one upon his knee?
Fatherhood has broken been
And touched on earth by curse;
But God His work continues still;
All will in time reverse.
On this day of joy and pain,
Hope is not all lost.
God in heaven holds the tears
Of those in suffering tossed.
Saints who ache for father love
Have One who fills their cup;
A Father faithful, kind and wise,
With love that won’t give up.
My Father God, in Heaven great,
Who His children keep
Hold tightly those today who mourn,
For Lord, so many weep.
~Gigi Ryan from “Many Weep”
There is no controlling life.
Try corralling a lightning bolt,
containing a tornado. Dam a
stream and it will create a new
channel. Resist, and the tide
will sweep you off your feet.
Allow, and grace will carry
you to higher ground. The only
safety lies in letting it all in—
the wild with the weak; fear,
fantasies, failures and success.
When loss rips off the doors of
the heart, or sadness veils your
vision with despair, practice
becomes simply bearing the truth.
In the choice to let go of your
known way of being, the whole
world is revealed to your new eyes.
~Danna Faulds “Allow” From Go In and In
On this Sunday solstice, on this day to honor Fathers:
we hear the Son tell the truth about our heavenly Father,
who made us in His image, to know and love us.
We have struggled to trust our belief
as the Son indeed rose up,
our doubts and sin taken upon Him,
so we would never be alone.
This is our Father who loves us from the beginning.
This is His Son who bears our darkness into the Light.
This is the Spirit embedded within us.
They are true, so we can believe.
I am reading slowly through the words in the Book of John over the next year alongside my church family. Once a week, I will invite you to “come and see” what those words might mean as we explore His promises together.
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