R.I.P. Charlie

Today we lost a close companion that we all loved, Charlie. He was such a great dog. He loved the kids and was very protective of them. He was a very kind and sweet dog. We will miss him greatly.

A couple weeks ago we noticed that he had trouble with one of his front legs. It seemed to get better and then it was hurting again. About a week later, we noticed that he was having trouble with his back legs and was having trouble getting up and down the stairs.

On Monday, we took him to the vet and she told us what she thought he had degenerative disc disease and gave us some medicine. Throughout the week, he got significantly worse, especially starting Wednesday night. We mentioned to the kids that we didn't know how long we'd have Charlie. They cried themselves to sleep that night.

By Friday, he could barely move and his back legs would only support him with great difficulty and he couldn't hold his bowels and so we called the vet again. We went as a family but the prognosis wasn't good and we decided that the best thing was to put Charlie to sleep.

You can't imagine how devastating that was to the kids. They cried and hugged and said their goodbyes. Nothing prepares you for that. How do you comfort your kids? How do you prepare them to lose someone so precious to them? We hugged them and hoped they understood that it was for the best.

Our hearts are broken tonight.

We'll miss you, Charlie. As the kids said, "No dog will ever be as good as Charlie." I'm sure they're right.

I know the kids are hoping to see you in heaven. I hope so too!

REST IN PEACE, CHARLIE.

Ezekial 18 – Sins of the Father

I have been listening through Ezekial this month and chapter 18 stuck out to me. Sometimes I wonder if I have to pay for the sins of my father or if I raise a son who defies God, will I have to pay for his sins. I’ve always felt we’re responsible for ourselves but God’s Word and His clarification on the subject really meant a lot to me this week.

Ezekial gives this list of sins several times in this chapter but to save time I’ll list them here.

1.       Violent

2.       Shedder of blood

3.       Eats upon the mountain

4.       Defiles his neighbor’s wife

5.       Oppresses the poor and needy

6.       Commits robbery

7.       Does not restore a pledge

8.       Lift up his eyes to the idols

9.       Commits abomination

10.    Lends at an interest and takes a profit

Ezekial also lists the behaviors of a righteous man, which parallels the list of sins.

1.       Does not eat upon the mountain

2.       Lift his eyes to the idols of Israel

3.       Does not defile neighbor’s wife

4.       Does not oppress anyone

5.       Restores to the debtor his pledge

6.       Exacts no pledge

7.       Commits no robbery

8.       Gives bread to the hungry

9.       Covers the naked with a garment

10.    Withholds his hand from iniquity

11.    Withholds his hand from injustice

12.    Executes true justice between man and man

13.    Takes no interest or take a profit

14.    Obeys my rules

15.    Walks in my statutes

16.    Keeps my rules by acting faithfully

Here’s the good news, the lesson for today.

1.       The soul who sins shall die. (vs. 4, 19)

2.       The righteous man shall live. (vs. 9)

3.       The righteous man shall not die because of his sinful son. (vs. 13)

a.        He shall not pay for the iniquity of his son. (vs. 20)

4.       The righteous man shall not die because of his sinful father. (vs. 17)

a.       He shall not pay for the iniquity of his father. (vs. 20)

5.       If the sinful (wicked) turn from their sin, they shall not die and his transgressions shall not be remembered against him. (vs. 21, 27-28)

6.       If the righteous man turns to wickedness, he shall die and his righteous deeds will not be remembered. (vs. 24, 26)

Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? (vs. 23)

For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live. (vs. 32)

Death & Assuming God's Reasons

When a person dies a fairly young death, people like to assign a reason as to why God would remove them from this earth. A lot of time with religious people, and especially fundamentalist, make a determination depending on what they think of the person. When it comes to people that are deemed good and wholesome, it's considered a tragedy and figure that "God must have a reason even if we don't understand."

Both my mothers died at relatively young ages. My first mom was 26 and my second mom was almost 53. They should have had years to live but God saw fit to take them "home" to heaven. Sometimes I've wondered why and I could make some assumptions but I've never thought that God took them home because of some evil that they have done. Anyone who knew my mothers probably never thought that either.

When it comes to others, they wonder what sin that person was committing. If they know about certain sin or don't agree with their religious beliefs, they start quoting James 1:15 "sin bringeth forth death" and other examples of lives in the Bible being cut short.

I know it's true and I even wrote about it in my family about James 1:15 personified in our family.

I know a young man who died in a motorcycle accident. I was told that he had gone back to his sinful life and that it was God's punishment for not serving God anymore.

A few years ago, one of my Bible college professors died an early death. On facebook I saw a pastor I know say it was because the man had become a staunch atheist and was writing a book refuting God's substitutionary death on the cross for our sins and that God killed this professor because he was making a mockery of God.

In the past year or so, a couple of young men of highly visible religious people have committed suicide. One's from fundamentalist background and the other from a evangelical background. What's sad is that the fundamentalist's family received sympathy and a "wonder why" but the family from the evangelical background received condemnation and suggestions that it was because they're not really serving the "true God."

Here's my question? Why do we speculate the worst? Why do we think that a person must have done or is doing something wrong and that is why they died?

We should not assume the reason why tragedy and death come to people at a young age. Only God knows.

It's insensitive, callous, and just cruel to state publicly that God killed someone out of what you might perceive as "righteous judgment."

Let's support the families by showing love and compassion. Stand with them in prayer. They don't deserve your unfounded opinion of God's purpose of allowing a tragedy to come into their lives.