The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

II Thessalonians 1:6-8, “…it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.”

I have always had an optimistic outlook on everything! Some days, of course, are less given to optimism than others; still, much of the gloom we suffer comes from outside ourselves rather than from within. The “gloomy Gus” (and I have no known Gus in mind) has no one to blame for his affliction but himself. There are those, of course, whose “brightness” comes from spreading gloom on everyone else.

If someone is pouring gloom all over your life –gloom that refuses to be erased by your inward

optimism— you will simply have to trust the LORD to deal with them. The Scriptures promise He will repay them in His own way and in His own time. That eliminates our standing on the sidelines and cheering over their misery in repayment.

We should be focused on the thought of Christ’s coming “from Heaven with His mighty angels…” At that time, He will pour out His wrath in “retribution upon those who do not know Him” and who did not “obey the gospel of our LORD Jesus.” Just think of the people you know, who do not know Him! They are going to suffer for not having trusted Him as their Savior! What’s more, you and I will be responsible for not having told them of the LORD and His salvation.

Our richest optimism will not be sufficient for us in that day. Nor will those who suffer do so because of anything they have done to us! Rather, it will be because they rejected Christ. There are those who believe Christ’s Coming is very near! The calousness of human hearts, even toward their fellowman, are beyond belief. Riping babies apart at birth for a profit; random killings and crowds cheering that people may die is simply beyond the pale. We have lost all human dignity. And for that, God will repay them all without mercy!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom