Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Savior be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen. ~Jude 1:24–26
A good father, a good parent, must often be firm. I do not mean unkind, I mean firm in the sense that the child knows exactly where he or she stands.
When I was thinking about this, I remembered a time I donated blood at the Red Cross. I was sick almost immediately upon standing and a Red Cross volunteer rushed to my side. The trouble was that he was elderly and frail. Too frail to provide me with any means of support and so down I crashed. There was a happy ending, but it was a bit rougher than it had to be for a while there. I just hope that he didn't get hurt!
I remember a dear pastor walking to the back of the church and ending every Sunday morning with the portion of scripture above. He said it as a benediction with his hands raised high over our collective heads. What a joy to remember this again today.
