Focus on Eternity

  Life-Long Learning        I am a life-long learner; It is one of God's gifts I hold with great joy. I haven't always felt this way. During my college days, my last semester, I could hardly wait for graduation as I approached my final degree. Forty years ago, my vivid memory of graduation day, May 15, 1982, remains strong. May 15, 2022, marks the day my oldest daughter will graduate from high school and begin her journey to college. On that same day, one of my nephews will graduate with an advanced degree from Norte Dame. Who could have foretold that we would share this date in common? (God)      Quite by accident, I found myself pursuing another degree after concluding that I had read my last textbook. At that time, the pursuit of manufactured success spoke loudly in my ears, as it does many young people. I only made it about halfway through that next degree when I realized that I was chasing something I didn't genuinely want. Many years later, I find my love of learn

       One of the primary focuses inside a small group setting is to love one another. As a small group leader, I try to foster an environment where people feel open to express themselves. With many years in this role, it seems as though spiritual warfare is at an all-time high. The trials and tribulations of those we’re called to love seem to be escalating. Promoting vertical vision is the solution. But it can also be the biggest challenge in a conversational setting. Galatians 6:1-3 directs our thoughts on how to conduct ourselves in a small group environment. It says, “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”        This last sentence from the apostle Paul is most convicting. It tells me not