It's mildly chaotic here this week. Philip and Becky just arrived back from Ch. The'll be staying (for how long?) here again because of work at Reading and here. We've two families who have come to do shakespeare. Also a young man from the church, who teaches in a special needs school, was at a bit of a loose end and is joining in with great gusto! Monday we had our regular weekly visitor - it started off as an opportunity for food and fellowship but he spends rather a lot of his time doing maintainance and rescue of our computers (and there seem to be quite a few these days...) so I'm not sure WHO is helping WHOM here!
Monday, also, because that's the way it worked out, we had Ben's folks for the evening. With the house so packed with people it seemed best to take them out to a restaurant.
It is very peculiar 'having' to get to know folks 'merely' because their son/daughter has fallen in love with one of ones children and that they intend to become the MOST important person in the world to each other. I went into 'small-talk' mode but didn't last long. We had a DELIGHTFUL time and can readily see why Ben is the wonderful chap he is. Another example of one of those times in life when one sets ones face to do ones 'duty' and finds oneself pleasantly surprised!

The real reason I am blogging is that, once we were home, we were looking at some photos which will be on display at the wedding. Ben's mum had brought them. While Ben's dad was looking on his whole face was aglow. The comments he made as each fresh photo was revealed, summarising Ben's life so far, showed a deeper love and admiration that I have ever seen in a man before. It was quite moving. Two things happened inside my head. One was a sense of gratitude that Ben and Lucy will be living near to Ben's folks (DV). Secondly, multiplying up this deep love and gratitude (after all it was only a teeny weeny reflection of the love the Father has for the Eternal Son) I got a new insight into the relationship which is the foundation for our eternal security. That the Son was the recipient of this un-imaginable love, that He willingly suffered His Father's displeasure (for our sake) and (most wonderful of all, to me right now) that HAVING all this love, Jesus was willing to make US partakers of it. None of us has the smallest claim on this love (any more than one of the 3 million other men in the country has on Mr H's fatherly love) and yet a) Jesus is willing to connect us into it and b) the Father is willing to bestow it - on me!

Behold what manner of Love the Father has bestowed on us that WE should be called the Sons of God - for this is what we are.

Hallelujah!