While reading in the book of Numbers this morning, I was reminded of the last week of the small group bible study I’m in. We just finished the Beth Moore study on James. During that last session, Beth (via video) delightfully mentioned five little words from 1 Corinthians 15:3-7. Those words were “Then He appeared to James.” These verses were talking about when Christ died for our sins, was raised from the dead, and the people He appeared to before descending to Heaven.
You see, James was the brother of Jesus. Could you imagine growing up in the same household of “The Favored Son”. Ugh! That had to be pretty intimidating. James didn’t realize the privilege of having Jesus as his brother until later in life. Once he got “Who He was”, James was all about sharing Jesus with others. Conjure up the picture of when “Then He appeared to James.” Was it the voice of Christ just whispering the name James? Was it an excited time of two brothers seeing each other and shouting out each other’s names? Was it just a look into each other’s eyes? I’m not sure, but they meeting of the two men had to be emotional.
Well, the very next day, while I was driving to work, I received a phone call from one of my brothers (I have three older brothers. Yes, I am the rotten younger and only sister.). When I saw Mike’s name appear, I got all giddy inside. I answered with enthusiasm, only to realize that he “pocket dialed” me. Even though it was not intentional, I listened for a minute just to hear the sound of his voice. Later that day I returned the call and we chatted for a while. The thought of Jesus and James came to mind.
Then a few days later, Tim and I attended a concert at the Strawberry Festival. When we arrived to our seat, who was sitting directly behind me? The youngest of the three brothers, Kenneth. Again, I got all “giddy” and thumped him in the head. Haha. He probably wanted to deck me, but I was so happy to see him. Again, the thought of Jesus and James came to mind.
But, God is way too cool for me to write about the experiences yet, (even though I wanted to) He had a better plan. What did God do? Well, I told you I had three brothers. Two days later, after seeing Kenneth, my eldest brother called to tell me that he and the family were coming down for one night to go to the festival, oh, I’m sure they came to see us too. :0). I got to see Kevin last night. Once more, I got happy in my heart.
So what did God do this morning during my scripture time? He had me reading about family. Ahhh, now the circle is complete. Isn’t God awesome!
I love my brothers! I love that we are all going to spend eternity together! I love my God!
March 8
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