Loving God… Loving Each Other…
In the film, “Field of Dreams, we are taken on a journey to fulfill dreams of having second chances to make things right. In the movie, Ray Kinsella hears a voice in his corn field telling him, "If you build it, he will come." Ray plows under his Iowa cornfield to build a baseball field that will call back Shoeless Joe Jackson and other major league baseball players of the Chicago White Sox who were banned for throwing the 1919 World Series. Ray risked the economic and emotional stability of the family he loved dearly to build a baseball field.
I am tempted to tell you “the rest of the story” like Paul Harvey used to do, but I will resist because some of you might not have ever seen the movie! The theme of the movie is what is so compelling to most people who have viewed it. It is a movie about hope. The characters in the movie have suffered through some misstep, or they blew the chance of a lifetime, or they destroyed a relationship, they thought could never be restored. But there is often a “rest of the story, especially when we believe in God.
Or to quote a baseball giant, “It ain’t over until it’s over!”
And to quote an Old Testament giant,
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to bless you and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11 No matter our past, when God is a part of our life, we have hope that relationships can be restored, that mistakes can be forgiven, and joy reignited. God is the author of hope and when we put our trust in him, there is no limit to the things he can do!
We all know what a lament is, don’t we? An entire book in the Bible is dedicated to lament—Lamentations. But even in times when our hearts are weary and our faith is stretched to the limits, hope appears, and we know that we will make it through. Just listen to a couple of statements from the lamentor, Jeremiah.
“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who
Lamentations 3:25-26
And… “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning!
Lamentations 3:21-24
Loving God… Loving each other
And the Story Never Ends…
Stand Firm!!!
Doug Hall
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