Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath and Sunday, December 28 and 29, 2024
This past Wednesday, Christmas Day, I was taking my usual morning walk when I noticed a piece paper lying flat in the middle of the street. As I came closer, I saw that it was a family photograph, probably one which had been included in a Christmas newsletter.
It made me feel a bit queasy to see that smiling family lying on the street like that, at the mercy of every car tire which rolled over it. I knew that up and down the street on either side were real families, living real lives, never knowing what might try to crush them in the days and months ahead.
This coming Sunday Shelley and I will be helping with a memorial service for a dear friend whose family we pastored many years ago. Though my friend was stricken with disease over the past few months, he lived a life of quiet but rock-solid faith in his Savior, a faith that he shared with his family, and which gave him utmost confidence for what lies beyond the grave.
Families, after all, were created in Eden, and any family who turns their hearts over to the Lord will sense His sustaining power no matter what happens. God loves families, and His Word says a lot about them. Here are some verses: