Reflections

Take Mark 7:5 for example. The Pharisees and the Scribes questioned Jesus as to why his disciples did not follow the custom of washing before eating bread. In response, Jesus referred to them as “hypocrites,” quoting Isaiah’s statement that they honor the Lord with their lips but their hearts are far from Him. In another instance recorded in Mark 8, Jesus rebuked Peter. "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." These don’t quite fit in the more gentle side of God paradigm, and yet, if we think about it, they are full of love.

Enjoy the Ride

Airplanes have always intrigued me. No matter how many times I board a plane from the steps on the ground, I look down the body of the plane and wonder how does it ever get off the ground! I was in the Detroit Airport and wandered into a store featuring items from the local auto and air museum. I purchased a book entitled, “How We Invented the Airplane,” by Orville and Wilbur Wright. The book was compiled from their written testimony during patent trials from others who were attempting to claim they were the “first,” to invent certain aspects of the Wright Flyer. 

This piqued my interest—especially as compared to the fiasco at Darton College a few weeks ago where a uniformed officer was apparently escorted off the campus because he was carrying his service weapon (the college has since offered an apology to the officer and regrets the incident). If one armed officer in uniform caused a teacher such discomfort, I’d hate to see how some will respond to a classroom filled with students who are packing.  

On this trip home, Jacob discovered that God had not forsaken him, even though he had messed up years before. As Jacob worries himself to sleepless nights about the fate of his family, God visits him. 

"So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met with him. When Jacob saw them, he said, 'This is God’s camp.' And he called the name of that place Manhanaim" (Genesis 32:1, 2).