Skip to main content

A letter

The arrangement of the books in the New Testament is interesting. Not chronological, not compiled by doctrine, nor following any other logical sequential order. Except that it goes from longest to shortest. Which is OK, but I've always wondered what made the cut and what didn't. Why do we have some letters but not others? Who made the decision about what made it into the Bible and what didn't? Surely there were more letters that were not included...

Timothy is the only one who gets letters written directly to him. He was the Bishop of Ephesus and apparently a relatively young man. But he had found favor with the Lord, and Paul refers to him as his son...

The letters written to Timothy are at once intensely personal and also very doctrinally illuminating. This is particularly true when it comes to the warnings directed specifically to Timothy that relate to difficulties he was facing or would face shortly.

As I read these words, I was reminded of letters my father has written to me and advice I've received directly from him. Now we don't send letters the way they used to - we can just pick up a phone and call. This is a much more direct and immediate method of communicating, and it is just as meaningful to me as if he were with me and speaking wisdom to my heart.

My father is a very wise man. I am grateful to be his son. I am grateful beyond my ability to express for the relationship we are able to continue to develop and enjoy. As I go through some of the darkest times of my life, I am thankful for the assistance and love he gives me, the advice and optimism, and the gentle guidance. We have always been able to talk - there was none of the estrangement that many young men feel from their fathers - and this ability has only been enhanced recently.

I know he's not perfect. But his imperfections do not put me off - they make him real and reasonable and rational. They make him human.

So I love you, pop. I am proud to be your son. I am grateful to a loving Heavenly Father who allowed us to be associated. Thank you for always being there for me.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Christ by highest heaven adored, Christ the everlasting Lord!

The purpose of the Book of Mormon is to testify of Christ and bring souls to Him. Who can deny this who have read the book and pondered it's sacred import? My life has been blessed and I have come to know Christ through reading this holy book. I know that Christ lives and loves us. I know He is our Savior and Redeemer. I know that through His merits alone we are saved from an eternity of misery and woe. I know that He died for us. I know He lives for us, advocating our cause before the throne of the Almighty. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He is the Master, the Son of God, the great Jehovah. Blessed and praised be His Holy Name forever and ever! To Him be all glory, honor, and majesty to an eternal day! It is the atonement of Christ - His suffering and subsequent victory - that makes all of this possible. His grace is sufficient for all after all we can do. And make no mistake - we must do all in our power. But through Him and by Him we can and will overcome. I love H
2 comments
Read more

2020 - A retrospective

 There will no doubt be many retrospectives written about the year that was 2020. It was a tough year for most, a good year for many, and generally speaking a very interesting year. Which reminds me of the the old curse - may you live in interesting times. Because, you see - interesting does not always mean good. It does not mean better. It does not mean happy. It just means interesting. So to highlight just how interesting things were, I offer the following post about things that went on. Or didn’t went on. It’s not intended to be chronological, necessarily, or even accurate. It’s just some of my observations.... Let’s start with the pandemic. Pandemic is a word that was previously the realm of science fiction and/or horror writers (The Stand comes to mind). Late 2019 a disease was identified in Wuhan, China, which is a place I’d never heard of before. Apparently coming from some kind of exotic meat market, this strain of Coronavirus was something that the world hadn’t seen before. Ma
Post a Comment
Read more

Is this thing still on?

 Does anyone even blog anymore? I remember when it first got started and everyone was having a blog. I like writing, and I do a lot of it in my professional life, but not everything makes it onto this blog, which is where a lot of my personal thoughts come out. I put more into Facebook lately, too, because it's a little easier. But there's something to be said for this long-form writing exercise, and I think I will continue here periodically. You don't mind, do you? Well, in my last post I wrote about how difficult things were for me at the time. That changed in July when I finally got a job working for the State of Utah. I was the program manager for the moderate income housing database program, and that meant I worked from home a lot but also went in to Salt Lake when needed, mostly on the train. It was a good experience, for the most part, and I'm grateful for the things I learned even in the short time I was there.  In October I started working for Weber County in t
Post a Comment
Read more