I am so glad to be a part of VLC!  Last Sunday was not a great day for me or my family.  Autumn and I carried a lot of responsibility for different aspects of our gathering last week, which is not always the case, but our rotations all landed on the same Sunday.  The night before we had sick kids, which precluded Autumn from attending church.  Over the course of the morning, different individuals in our fellowship helped cover for us.  Everything went more smoothly than I could have imagined.  All that to say, “Thank you.”  VLC is truly a family, and I’m glad to be your brother.

Face Shine

Last week, I wrote about remaining in his keep, recalling the conditional aspect of blessing.  This next couplet (There are three couplets to this blessing in Numbers 6:22-27.)  seems to be less conditional, even unconditional.

“The LORD make his face shine on you.”  This is a pretty literal rendering of the Hebrew.  But, The Message version conveys it in touchable terms, “God smile on you.”  This got me asking, “Why would God smile on his people?”  I think the answer is simple.  We were created in his image and of that he said it was very good. (Genesis 1:26-27, 31).  It is a powerful truth to understand that we bring joy to the heart of God.

Now in context to this entire blessing in Numbers 6, God is saying, “Only when you live as my people will you know my joy and grace, which is the pathway to relationship with me and the fullness of life in my peace.”  As we have looked at the first part of this second couplet, I want you to receive the truth that you bring joy to God.

Grace and peace,

Brook