Sunday, January 04, 2009

A Cruel Net

Ecclesiastes 9:12 (NIV)

12 Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come:
As fish are caught in a cruel net,
or birds are taken in a snare,
so men are trapped by evil times
that fall unexpectedly upon them.

Yesterday evening, our daughter and a friend were assaulted by two men wielding knifes as they walked to our house on a well traveled road. They demanded money and whatever they were carrying. Which amounted to about 10 Emalangeni, 2 cell phones, a pair of soccer boots and shin guards, and a back pack. Cars were driving by, unaware what was happening. They let them go and disappeared into the bush.

Gabby came to me later in evening distressed that if they had killed her, would she have gone to heaven. Now that's a very personal question (with history behind it that is not appropriate here), but it gave us a good opportunity to talk about God's love, grace, forgiveness, and faithfulness. That in spite of our weakness's and failures, God is still patient with us. And you haven't reached the "point of no return" if you still care if God loves you or not; or you are standing in front of Him in judgment.

So I ask for prayers for our family and especially our kids, that the attacks (spiritual & physical) we come under here will serve to grow us in faith and maturity and reliance on the one who is eternally faithful.