Soaring As An Eagle

I'm back!!!
It has been a busy month for me and I will use that as my excuse for being lax in blogging regularly. This summer I've had a child get married, another child have a baby and still yet a third child move out of the house. I've traveled to Mexico with a bunch of teens on a mission trip, traveled to South Dakota for a wedding, traveled to North Dakota to see my first grandson (Ethan Thomas Brown), and traveled to Athens, GA to visit with the newlyweds. It has been a good summer but I must refocus on the task at hand.
Last night I had the honor to speak on behalf of one of the teens in our high school youth group. Matthew Bean was awarded the Boy Scouts highest rank of Eagle Scout and he asked me to be a part of the ceremony. I've gone to several of these in the past but this was my first to be involved. To achieve the rank of Eagle Scout you must complete and master over 350 specific tasks by your 18th birthday. How many specific tasks have you mastered? I know that would certainly be a stretch for me. What is truly amazing is that this is nothing new for the troop in which Matthew is a member. They have only been in existence since the 1990's but over two dozen scouts have achieved this level of excellence and leadership and it is not because they have hundreds of boys in the troop. As Matthew noted in his talk it is because of the strong dedicated leadership of the adults involved including the parents. They operate like a well-tuned machine for the benefit of the boys.
Scouting holds the boys to a high standard of living called the "Scout Law." The tenets of the "Scout Law" state that a scout must be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. Whether a boy is a Tenderfoot, the beginning rank in scouting, or an Eagle Scout, he must pledge himself to this ideal.
As Christians we too have a law to live by. The Law of Christ states that we are to “carry each others burdens.” The law of the Spirit of life in Christ sets us free so that we can bear fruit. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us what the fruit looks like. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
While we may not all be eligible to be a Boy Scout we all are called to a high standard of living as Children of God. Bearing fruit is our proof of membership. How do you like those apples!!!

Roger, over and out!