by David Thompson
NASHVILLE, TN – He is the last of his kind—-the last of what’s affectionately known as the greatest generation. He is U.S. military pilot Gail S. Halverson. A bomber in World War II, he is an American Hero. Oh! Did I mention he targeted kids!
I also failed to mention that Gail who just died the last week of February of 2022, was known as the “Candy Bomber”. That’s right… he dropped hundreds of thousands of pounds of sweets and goodies all over the Soviet controlled West Berlin as World War II was ending. What a legacy to leave. What an honor and duty for him to drop the last bombs on Soviet Berlin…. and it was something delicious and wonderful from above.
He lived to talk about it personally for 77 more years, now I am telling his story, and now you are learning his story. It’s not a stretch to relate this to a picture of what our heavenly Father is like. The very first book in the New Testament actually appears near the end. It is James, the half-brother of our Lord. In one of the first paragraphs, he says,
“Every good and perfect gift comes down from Heaven—from the Father of Lights, in whom there is no variableness or shadow of turning… of His own will He brought us forth….in order that we would be a kind of first fruits”.
James is, in very simple terms, describing what God is like. First, all that is “GOOD” is always from “GOD”. Next, this “GOOD GOD” cannot change—“EVER’. Lastly, GOD is GOOD FOREVER—not because he feels like it. GOD Is GOOD FOREVER, simply because that’s what God “WILLS”.
James states, “of His own WILL…. He brought us forth”. Another translation says, “gave us birth”. In other words, if you have a spiritual birthday, it is surely because God loved you first and He didn’t do that just because He felt like it. GOD WILLED IT!
The great C.S. Lewis puts it like this, “Being in love and loving are two different things—being in love is great but not the greatest thing—there are many things above it and many things below it”.
Lewis goes on to say, “no one can sustain the feeling of a teenager in love. True love is loving someone even when you don’t like them” and so, God doesn’t like you because He “FEELS “ like it… But because HE WILLS TO!
I hope today, dear friend, that you will come to know this God just like Jesus’ own brother knew Him. Thank God today if you do know Him, and that He does not love like you and I love— EVER… (we tend to love based on feelings that change).
Instead, learn this, “Jesus loves me this—this I know, for the Bible tells me so”. I am grateful that a tiny, but very round little scotch woman, Ms. Stewart, at the Old Hickory Presbyterian Church taught me that before I could even write my name.
Be glad and rejoice brother and sister that you have a God who is responsible for all that is good in this old messed up world. No matter what happens today, or tomorrow, or this year, God is still going to be the same—causing “mercy drops” from Heaven to rain down on you, just as He has done every livelong day of your existence! And take a moment to praise Him that he never does “GOOD” just because he feels like it… He does it because HE IS A GOOD GOD!!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. David L. Thompson holds an undergraduate degree from Belmont University in Psychology and Religion, a graduate degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Education, and a doctorate in Counseling and Pastoral Psychology. He has served as a chairman of the Church Planting Group and Executive Committee Chair at the North American Mission Board for 10 years. He has been a Police Chaplain since 1991 and served as a Corporate Chaplain to the Coca Cola Bottling Company in Nashville, Tennessee where he resides with his wife. He has six children and five grandsons.