The
Union
Your
Father has called you, your brothers and sisters and asked you all to join him
for a family reunion. He has invited the whole family. It sounds like it is
going to be an extremely large get together and promises to be a wonderful
affair.
Your
Father lives in a small mountain village, trees, lakes, and streams abound. It
is a beautiful place, a perfect setting for a reunion. It will be nice to see
all of the family, sharing love, friendship, and stories. It will be nice to
get out of this big city, with all of its pollution, and the fast paced
enviroment. What a welcome change, you won’t have to worry about not having
enough time to get everything done.
You
prepare for the trip, packing and setting things in order. Your spouse and
children seem to be excited about the upcoming event too.
The
problems begin almost immediately; one of your brothers cannot make the reunion.
A large business deal for his company is next week and he needs time to prepare
for it. What a shame you think. He used to be such an easy going guy who always
had a kind word for everyone he met. You will surely miss his presence.
You
hear from a sister who cannot attend as well. Her cooking club is having a
display at the local community center on one of the days during the reunion.
Her display is set to be one of the main attractions. She is a nice person and
an awesome cook, too bad she won’t be able to make it.
Another
sister has called and informed everyone that she cant make it due to a surgery
she has had scheduled for months. You will miss your dear sister, she is so
beautiful, and she really is a good person deep inside. You hope her tummy tuck
goes well and that there arent any complications.
Another brother has let everyone know that he won’t be able to attend. His wife has chastised him and insists that they cannot afford for him to take time off from work because they are saving up to buy a pool. What a shame, dear brother is such a sensitive person, if only he didn’t let his wife lead him around like a dog on a leash.
One
of your favorite brothers is receiving an award for his community service work.
He won’t be able to make it due to scheduling conflicts. Dear brother, he has a
heart of gold and you love him dearly. It is unfortunate that he can’t postpone
his award ceremony.
This
is truly dismal news, your brother the minister has informed everyone that he
cannot attend. He has a sermon to give on Sunday that he has been preparing for
weeks. He also doesn’t know if the flock would be safe without his presence.
Brother is a good man, and really has a spirit of good will. It is sad that he
won’t be able to make it. You hope his sermon goes well.
You
are told that one of your brothers has been hospitalized because he had a drug
overdose. He is in a rehabilitation center again. You hope that your dear
brother turns from his life of drugs and realizes how little they do for him.
Hopefully he will realize that the drugs only temporarily cover up pain.
You
discover that another brother has been arrested and is serving jail time for
drinking and driving. What a shame, he was always such a moody and introverted
person. You love him despite his sour attitudes.
One
of you sisters calls you and tells you she won’t be able to make it. She tells
you that there is a rumour in her town that her best friend may be inheriting a
small fortune, and that she wants to be there with her if it happens. O dear
sister, she always was a dreamer. Full of fanciful dreams, living her life
through other people’s lives. She is so sweet, it is sad to see her spending
her life like this.
Your
brother who owns a body shop had his 69 Mustang backed into. It looks like he
will probably not make it because he won’t be able to fix it in time for the
reunion. He is such a hard worker and really loves his cars. You love your
brother, you just hope that one day he won’t think about his work and cars so
much.
An
emergency has happened at your sister’s work. Their computer network has
crashed and they are not sure how long it will take to fix it. She will try to
make it when she can. Sister is so dedicated; she really knows computers, what
a whiz. You hope that she will make it.
How
dismal the reunion will be. You will be the only one attending of all your
brothers and sisters. You have called your Father and he still wants you to
come. It will be nice to see Father; he is so loving and warm. You will leave
in the morning. The weather is great and it will be nice to leave the stress of
the city.
The
next morning arrives and you load up and hit the road. You drive past the
familiar surroundings and landmarks get on the freeway and head towards your
destination.
Along
the way you experience mechanical problems with your vehicle, flat tires,
detours, and roadblocks. None of these keep you from arriving at your
destination; you truly want to see your Father.
Your Father is happy to see you when you arrive. He tells you how much he wanted to see all of his sons and daughters and how He wanted to show them how much He loves them. He then lets you know that he is ready to share his vast wealth with His family.
Because your brothers and sisters aren’t present, Father has decided to share his wealth with the many loving and caring people He has invited to this wonderful event. The reunion had become a union; there is much singing and dancing, thanking and praising our Father.
15Do not love the world nor that which is in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16Because
all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world. 17And the world passes away, and the lust of it, but the one doing the desire of Elohim remains forever.
May we be given strength to put off the cares of this world when the Father calls us.
