by the Night Writer

It’s been a busy week and it’s affected my blogging mojo a bit. Fortunately other family members (including new ones) have taken up some of the slack. Earlier this week I wrestled down all but the smallest remaining details for our trip to Spain; specifically how we are going to get from Madrid to Barcelona and back. Amazingly, to go by high-speed rail costs twice as much as flying, though both take about the same amount of time when you factor in transit from the airport to the city centers. Renting a car is a bit cheaper than flying, but adding the cost of gas and the hassle of driving in strange cities it’s almost a push. Not to mention that going by car takes 6 to 8 hours as opposed to one and a half. So that was educational.

Last night and tonight, though, I’ve been working on my message for Inside Outfitters this weekend. Years ago the Mall Diva bought me a tee-shirt for Fathers’ Day that read, “This is what a cool dad looks like.” I’m going to wear that shirt and start my message roughlywhere the group left off in March as we talk about how men who grew up without a father have a harder time grasping the concept of a “Father God”, especially when it comes to receiving blessings and correction. Put another way, they have a harder time receiving love.

Usually when I speak to this group (which includes a number of guys in various stages of rehab) I teach on faith with an eye toward creating a sense or picture of hope. My objective this week will be to describe the characteristics of the Father, hopefully in a way that we can easily grasp it. Of course, there is no way to do this without demonstrating — or at least trying to describe — love. We were able to demonstrate it a little in March; now as I try to describe the relationship between faith, hope and love I come across (yet again) the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, this time from one of his sermons (emphasis mine):

Faith and hope remain. Let us not think that we can have love without faith and without hope! Love without faith is like a river without a source. That would mean we could have love without Christ. Faith alone justifies us before God. Hope directs our attention to the end. Love perfects.

Yes, a very educational week, indeed.

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