Psalm 16 & John 20: 19-31 "Jesus provided far more God-revealing signs than are written down in this book." (v. 30, MSG).
Our Pastor, Rev. Charley Eastman & family departed from our midst this week, amid very little fanfare. His servanthood, style, exuberance for enacting God's word, humility, candor, humor, pointing out Jesus' relevance to our times, faith, connect-ability to youth, devotion to family and general zest for life, liberty and the pursuit of joy, (to name but a few traits) are far more God-revealing, than this reflection or author are capable of depicting.
Do you believe [in God] because you've seen with your own eyes? Change is inevitable, but the imposed restrictions / recommendations during the pandemic seem outlandish to endure! It's our response to change that's more important. Those closest to Christ were not in favor of his departure, nor was I of our Pastor. Neither issue was open for a vote, but if I'm paying attention, I'm blessed to see God make extraordinary out of the ordinary; so often, way after the initially undesired change. T'was true of my being asked to: leave my former marriage back in '92, step away from Corporate America in '03, unravel my too tightly codependent identity to my spouse's 30 year ministry in '17! My faith dividends are improving when I view the big picture, but my existential trust quotient still needs some re-tooling when I want what I want, when I want it.
Although, he'd likely deny being compared to Jesus, our reverent Rev. Eastman vibrantly 'breathed the Holy Spirit' (v. 22) on us for 10+ yrs. His calling guided him to carry-on as his FFC forefathers did, and to our benefit, prepare us to embrace both the uncertainty of COVID-19 and how we can reach out to those in need in the near future. "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet come to believe." (v. 29).
Grace & Peace, your Deacons & Gratitude / Blessings to the Eastman family!