Friday, October 9, 2009

my dad

Gerald Thomas Beck...
my dad.
If you know me well, you know the special relationship I have with my dad.
He is a prayer warrior. A faithful follower. A loving and gentle dad.


Among so many things my dad has taught me, he has shown me
boldness.
Boldness to serve, boldness to love, boldness to give and to share.
Mostly, the boldness to look beyond myself and to see the world.
This boldness has really got me thinking these days.

Isaiah 58-
A tough chapter to read.
Through Isaiah, God reveals His frustration for about 6 verses with the people of Israel.
He asks them why they act so pious. Why do they go to the Temple and seem so delighted to learn about Him, act as though they are righteous, and continue fasting when they are still fighting among themselves, oppressing their workers, and bragging about their fasting?
Yeah! Stupid Israelites. How dare you?! Right?!
No. I am the Israelite in this passage.
Me.
And maybe you are too? I don't know.

God says this is what He desires from us...
"No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them...
Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal...
Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble.
Then your Light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry, and restoring your strength.
You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring."
[Isaiah 58:6-11, New Living Translation]

Feed the hungry. Shelter the homeless. Free the captives.
Then our Light will shine and we will be like an ever-flowing spring.

That is our gospel.
mmmmmm.

2 comments:

David Stoneking said...

You are very blessed to have such a sweet and devoted dad. There's no doubt that his faithfulness to the LORD has brought him wisdom and allowed him to raise a faithful and wise daughter.

This is a great passage for me right now because i think it helps to simplify things. I think whenever i get caught up with the rights/wrongs, dos/don'ts these words help to broaden my view to whats at the heart of loving GOD and loving people

Nicki W. said...

what a great post. he must be a GREAT dad b/c he has a daughter who is a STUD!!!!