What can I say? I love to run. I've run 4 full marathons and 6 halfs. But I love God more and I'm determined to run this race of life for Him to receive the ultimate prize of Heaven. I'd like to share my thoughts with you. You can agree or disagree. Comment or don't. You can read or not read. But it's here if you want it. Enjoy! .

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

BCS Champ......not BAMA!

Well, I've been lazy. It's January 18th and this is my first post of the new year. Sorry about that. I could say that I've been busy which is true, but it's not really an excuse..... I still could've found time to write. I still often debate if I want to keep this blog up or not. I enjoy it once I get a post done, but it's figuring out what to write about that's hard for me. That alone stifles my motivation to do it. Plus I sometimes debate if it's worth it. Not sure how many are reading. But then I keep going back to me.....not to be self-centered, but the fact is that even if nobody is reading, I think this is good for me and my spiritual relationship with God. It's just one more tool to keep me close to Him and to keep my life on track where it should be. So I plan for now to keep it up. I have grown so much closer to God in the last year and I don't want to become stale. I think this blog keeps me from being stale.

So about a week ago, we all watched the BCS championship. Unfortunately, my least favorite team in America won the whole thing. "Bama".....just typing the word makes me cringe. Can't stand 'em. What kind of Auburn fan would I be if I could? I was rooting for LSU....not a big fan of them either, but would've been much better than the alternative. Unfortunately, LSU's offense didn't show up for that game. I can honestly say that it was the most boring game I've ever watched. There was no action 'til late in the 4th quarter. I honestly wish Oklahoma State would've gone to the title game just for some more scoring. I think there would've been a lot more.....by LSU that is. But Bama was the better team....apparently....they did win. So they can enjoy their title....again! Hopefully next year, my Auburn Tigers will do a little better, although they did have an impressive bowl win. War Eagle!

Speaking of BCS.....is there anyone that actually likes that system? Every person I know wants a play-off. It's just the obvious answer and I'm not sure why they don't get that. I keep hearing that it will happen one day, but I've been hearing that for a looooong time. I hope I'm alive to see it. But for now, just like with Bama, I can't stand the BCS. So while I wasn't impressed with this year's game or the whole system for that matter, it did remind me of something......

BCS reminds me of Heaven. Say what? How is that now? It does....and I'll tell you why. Before I get to that.....Carter said something surprising to me a few days ago. Not sure how it came up, but we were just talking and he said, "Dad, my friend _________ told me that his dad said we won't know each other in Heaven." That surprised me, but I immediately replied with "Carter, I disagree with that." I told him that I absolutely believe that we will know each other in Heaven. He said he thought so too. After he went to bed that night, it got me thinking....how do I know that we'll know each other in Heaven. It's what I've been told....in fact, the night Griffin died, I asked my preacher that very question. I wanted to know if I'd know my son when I got there. He assured me I would and it gave me some peace. But I just took his word for it. I don't remember ever studying this before and seeing what God says about it. So what does He say? Will we know each other? I decided to look into it a little. A couple of stories come to mind....

1. In Matthew 8, a centurion comes to Jesus and asks Him to heal a man at his house. After Jesus did so, He talked to the people about Heaven. In ch. 8, verse 11, Jesus said....
11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
So in Heaven, we are going to feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Now while He didn't say we would talk to them, I can't believe we are just going to sit there and stare at each o
ther. I imagine that we'll know who they are....that we'll get to ask them about their great stories. So if we know them.....

2. In three of the four gospels, we read about the Transfiguration of Jesus in which Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus. It doesn't say that Jesus introduced the two men to each other. It appears they most likely knew each other even though they lived at different times. So if they knew each other.....

3. When Abraham died in the Old Testament, it says he was "gathered to his people" (Gen. 25:8). This seems to indicate that he was among his family and ancestors in Heaven. So won't we be as well?

There are other passages we could look at but I also have to mention the obvious.....Heaven is going to be wonderful! We are told this many times. It will be more wonderful than we can ever imagine and so I have to believe that part of that "wonderful" will be reuniting with loved ones. I just believe that's something God will do for us as part of our reward. And I'll be honest with something else.....I believe some of these "bright light" stories are true.
I mentioned in an earlier post that I read "Heaven is for Real" and I believe it. I believe that boy saw his sister and knew her. I think that book, among others is just another way that God shows us how great Heaven will be. Believe what you want, but the point is I believe it's true..... I have faith that we'll know each other AND will get to meet many others that we don't know. It will be an awesome gathering of family and friends. So what does the BCS have to do with it????

Those letters represent the three I am most looking forward to seeing and knowing.....

B - my Brother. I can't wait to see my brother who is my Savior, Christ, and Sacrifice. I want to see Jesus, talk to Him, know Him, and thank Him. I want to ask Him questions. I want to touch his hands like Thomas did. I want to sit for hours and let Him teach me like He did so many others in the gospels. I want to listen to Him, follow Him, and be in His presence. For all eternity.

C - my Creator. My Lord, my Father, my God. I want to also be in the presence of the Holy, Almighty Lord and Father of Mankind. I want to see Him. I want to sing praises to Him. I want to worship Him. I want to know Him. I want to humble myself completely before Him and thank Him with all I have for choosing me and giving me the 2 ultimate gifts.....His Son and my salvation. I want to bow face down to the ground before Him and worship Him. For all eternity.

S - my Son. It's no secret that I want to get to Heaven to see my son. My child, my love, my Griffin. I believe I will know him. I know I will know him.....and he will know me. And 3rd only to my Father and Brother, he's the reason I will strive for the rest of my life to get there. I absolutely cannot wait to get there. I am willing every second to go. I'm ready. I understand and believe that God has use for me here for now, but I wait in eager anticipation for the second He decides my time here is done. I want to see and hold my son again.

So that's what the "BCS" means to me. It reminds me of why I'm living. It reminds me of my purpose. I want to be the BCS champ.....and get to see my B, C, and S. One day I will.

I love God, Griffin, my Girl, and my Guys.

Keep runnin'. The PRIZE awaits. (Php. 3:14)

-Albert

2 comments:

  1. Your comments are inspirational! Keep blogging and keep running. Any witness for Christ in any format is of value.

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  2. Hmmm, the game was only boring to non- BAMA fans! :) Love you anyway. :) And you're right - what kind of AU fan would you be if you didn't hate us? I had that exact feeling during the BCS last year. Love the SEC but just couldn't pull for the Tigers! :)
    This is Kathy Marsh. I never can figure out how to comment on your blog so it'll probably show up as anonymous!

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