My CD-Rom is humming
I'm not completely sure why, but I feel compelled to share something I read recently with everyone. However, I will give you the option of whether or not to actually read it.
Mark Hanson is one of the first people I ever met at my church. When I first started attending, he was the one I most looked up to. He was the one I went to first when I had problems, and he was the one I went to first when I had good news. He was essentially a father figure to me in my first couple years of church attendance. I'd even sit with his family during Sunday services, as I lacked a family of my own to sit with.
Since then, Mark has become one of the elders of the church. He wrote an article in this month's Voice, the monthly church newsletter, for the section entitled "Elder's Corner." The following is what he wrote.
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On January 3, 2003 a complete stranger entered my life. I had no earthly reason to love him. he was not born of my wife. My blood did not flow through his tiny veins. At first I loved him because he was helpless and half abandoned. he had no one to meet his needs. As time went on my heart loved him more and more although my logical mind said this was not wise. Now this tiny stranger calls me Da-Da, and my heart knows something that I don't need a judge to tell me; he is no stranger, he is my son.
"For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will." Ephesians 1:5
In the very near future Austin will legally become my son. he will receive all of the rights and responsibilities of sonship. He will be a full heir with my other children. My recent experience of receiving the gift of a son through adoption has caused me to give much thought to my adoption into the family of God. Here are a few of the lessons that I've learned.
First, i chose Austin. he did not choose me to be his father. Nor did he do anything to warrant my choosing him. This is the exact position I find myself in with my heavenly Father. (John 15:16)
Second, just as Austin will receive the full inheritance and all benefits of being my son, i too have an inheritance from my heavenly Father. This is not because of what I've done, but because of what He's done. (Matthew 25:34, I Peter 1:14, Romans 8:17)
Last, Austin will be watching me, imitating me, and listening to my instructions. I need to live a life that he can model his life after. And i have a heavenly Father that I need to be watching and imitating, whose instructions I need to listen to and whose life I need to model my life after. (Ephesians 5:1-2)
"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" - I John 3:1
His adopted son,
Mark Hanson
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I don't understand all of this, just because of the simple fact that I am not a father myself. However, I can and do still understand a lot of it. The biggest thing this has done for me is that it has simply served as more motivation to live the life that God wants me to live and has called me to. One of my biggest struggles in my faith is trying to seperate what I want for myself, and what God wants for me. What I want in the grand scheme of things doesn't really matter. It's what God wants that does. I'm living my life for His kingdom, not mine.
7:11 PM
On a much different side of things, I have just seen a quote that made me laugh. Courtesy of  my wife, that I apparently married the other night somewhere in the middle of my 12-hour sleepfest.
"People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs."
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