Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

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April 5, 2010
    Greetings and salutations, special people.
    Couldn't sleep beyond about 2:30am...so got up.  No sense just laying there wasting time.  Actually, it's not all wasted time.  I do a lot of design work, engineering, and planning while laying in bed...without even disturbing Becki.  I also spent time trying to unravel and address certain issues heavy upon our family at present.
    The Bible says that, "The just shall live by faith."  God has done some wonderful things in my life to help build and refine my faith.  But he never does so much for me that I no longer have to live by faith.  Know what I mean?  Even today will be lived in faith...a heavy leaning on the "Everlasting Arms."
    Keep leaning, folks.  The "arm of flesh will fail you."  That's a fact...and a warning.
    May your day be productive of God's will.
        Love and prayers.  Dad/Ray

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5 April 2010
Passage: Mark 3:13-35
Focus: “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”  Mark 3:35.

            Jesus is often enhancing our inferior understanding by contrasting the physical with the spiritual.  He is pointing out in this exchange that there can be a vast difference between the physical family of men and the spiritual family of God.  Of particular importance is that Jesus is giving us here a fundamental basis for membership in the spiritual family of God: “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
            I once heard a provocative questioned aimed at Christian parents: ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD’S CHILDREN THE CHILDREN OF GOD?  I think we can balance out that question by turning it around and asking, “Are the parents of God’s children the children of God?”  In other words, are the members of our earthly families also members of God’s family?  In order to move toward that high objective, there is no substitute for you and me first making sure that we ourselves are people who earnestly strive to do God’s will.  Secondly, we must strive to do all we reasonably can to communicate this fundamental need to the individual members of our families to also be people who do God’s will.  I can’t imagine anything that comes closer to heaven on earth than being part of a human family that is also part of God’s family, individually and collectively doing God’s will.