For the most part, these gatherings have been attended by my mom, her four children (I’m the baby of the four), our spouses, our children, some of our children's spouses, and most recently a few of our grandchildren. Most of you know that my mom graduated to glory last December and is enjoying her new heavenly home in the company of Jesus, so this was the first time that we came together for our annual love-fest without our sweet Momma/Gramma/Great Gramma there.
We had a memorial service for my mom at Donner Lake where we shared, through tears and some laughter, the ways she impacted our lives with the special care she took in discovering and sharing the interests of each and every one of us. The more we remembered and reflected on my mom’s life, the more the love tangibly flowed into the room.
At one point I said something like, “If any of us needed proof of the reality of God’s love, just look around this room. The love is thick in here! It’s a gift that mom gave to us, but there is truly only One Source for all this love. This is from our heavenly Father who IS love! Mom’s legacy of love will live on through all of us every time we chose to love and freely give what we’ve freely received.”
Family is God’s idea and love is the essence of who He is! His plan has always been for families to experience His love together. This is one of the primary reasons the enemy makes it such a priority to destroy the very fabric of families, and especially the trust between parents and children.
God’s not going to have it that way! He has a way of trumping anything and everything the enemy tries to destroy and it is God's plan to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents (Malachi 4:6).
Papa God has created one HUGE family where He is the Father and we are all His children which makes us brothers and sisters to one another. He has also placed His Spirit inside of each one of us to help our hearts heal from past family wounds so that His love can once again flow freely through us to one another. This is the Father’s good and perfect plan—one that He is carrying out with great success!
It’s why in Hebrews 10:25 we read, Let us not give up meeting together. Some are in the habit of doing this. Instead, let us cheer each other up with words of hope. Let us do it all the more as you see the day coming when Christ will return. (NIRV)
If you have been hurt in your own family or hurt by those in the Family of God, you might be wondering, Why would we choose to come together and spend time with each other when at times there can be drama or even heartache? God’s answer is that we were made for family and anything less will leave us feeling incomplete. By insisting that we learn to love each other with His love, He is teaching us how to open our hearts up to one another and live vulnerably with each other as we were created to do. By going through this process with the Lord, we are entering into a depth of love we can encounter in no other way.
Lately, the Lord has been reminding me what a truly amazing family Blazing Fire is! Are we without challenges at times? Nope! But we are healthier now than we’ve ever been and there’s a whole lotta love whenever we gather—so thick and real you can cut it with a knife! And where is all that love coming from? From a Father who IS love and who is lavishly pouring it out on His kids so they will have a super-abundant supply to love each other with.
If Blazing Fire is your family, make it a point to come to worship on Saturday nights with the intent not only to draw closer to God, but also to draw closer to one or two more of His kids every chance you get. And if you happen to live in the Bay Area, please be sure to join us for our family picnic next Sunday, August 4th (details below) and choose to love and be loved in God’s family! You will be so glad you did!
With a Whole Lotta Love!
Brent
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