We’re told that each andevery snowflake isunique. Each one isslightly different from anyother snowflake. Whenyou think of the billions ofsnowflakes that fall justin Canada each year, it isa stunning fact to con-template.

Human beings alsoreflect that incrediblevariety God hasdesigned into creation.Have you noticed howeach and every person isunique? Physically, aswell as in terms of per-sonality, temperament,and background every-one has a unique placein the human family witha distinctive story to tell. I

never tire of listening to the life stories of older people. They havelived many years, and have experienced things and learned vitallessons that can be shared, if they find willing listeners.

When God looks upon humanity, what does he see? Do you thinkhe sees swarms of us running around like ants milling about in anant farm? I don’t believe he sees us that way at all. I believe hesees each person individually, and is aware of each and everyhuman being, and the details of the condition they are in. Jesustells us, “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered”(Luke 12:7). If God is aware of such a minor detail as the numbersof hairs on our head, you can be assured he is completely awareof the bigger issues we face in our lives, and the details of our cir-cumstances.

We human beings have great value in the eyes of God. We werecreated in his image, destined to live in intimate relationship withthe Trinity—Father, Son and Spirit. The Bible teaches us that whenAdam and Eve were created they initially experienced that relation-ship, but tragically rejected it, no longer trusting their Creator. Thisdecision impacted how human history has developed, andaccounts for the terrible problems and suffering so common in ourworld. However, due to God’s great mercy he has a plan ofredemption by which through the life and sacrifice of Jesus,humanity may be brought back into relationship with God again.We are destined to share in the very relationship the Son enjoyswith the Father, as adopted children of God.

That central truth undergirds the true value of each human life.When we grasp that, we begin to understand who we were meantto be, and begin to live out our true destiny. But that understand-ing applies to each and every other human being who has lived.They are destined to be our brothers and sisters for eternity, and toparticipate in the life of our triune God, just as we are.

As we understand that, how we view other people changes. We nolonger view people apart from Christ and his ministry of reconcilia-tion (2 Corinthians 5:16a). We see people as God does, with theincredible value and future he has prepared for them. Whether theyyet see it and embrace it themselves or not, we know that this is

Snowflakes

We’re told that eachand every snowflake is

unique. Each one isslightly different fromany other snowflake.When you think of thebillions of snowflakesthat fall just in Canadaeach year, it is a stun-ning fact to contem-

plate.

Grace Communion International Canada / Communion Internationale dans la Grâce, Canada MARCH 2015

what they were created for. This powerfully impacts how we viewothers. Each person becomes important, regardless of their statusor lack thereof, in this society.

I’ve heard the story that Mother Theresa was asked why she both-ered saving the lives of the discarded babies thrown on thegarbage heap by the poorest of the poor of Calcutta, India. Heranswer was, “they are important to God, and therefore they areimportant to me.” Her words—and more importantly her life—reflected the fact she truly believed what she said.

Each and every person is valuable and important to God, andtherefore, as we grow to see things the way God does, they will beimportant to us. Just think of what a changed world it would be ifeveryone had that point of view. Let us show that kindness andlove to all those we come in contact with, and truly see them asGod does—unique individuals, of great worth and value!

Gary Moore

I attend a lot of funerals.Not because the mem-bers of my congrega-tions are dying at anaccelerated rate—butbecause I serve asPadre of Branch 70, ofthe Royal CanadianLegion in NorthBattleford, SK.

As Padre, in addition toleading the annualRemembrance Day serv-ice, I also am asked to atthe end of the regularfuneral service. Aftercalling the Sergeant-at-Arms to attention, I reada prayer for the departedcomrade, which is fol-lowed by the playing of

the last post and rouse. I then repeat the Act of Remembrance:

They shall not grow old,As we that are left grow old.Age shall not weary them,Nor the years condemn.At the going down of the sun,And in the morning,We will remember them

To which the honour guard responds, “We will remember them .”The honour guard then places a poppy on the casket or wreath.

Recently, I lead the Legion Rites for John, a 92 year old veteran ofWorld War II. Before my portion of the funeral service, I along withthe honour guard sat and listened to John being eulogized by oneof his children, along with the family stories read by my ministerfriend Francis.

John, like many his age, grew up on the family farm just outside ourcommunity. After leaving High School, he joined the CanadianArmy and served in several theatres of war in Europe. Returninghome, he married, and worked for some time as an engineer onthe CP railroad in British Columbia. He then moved back to NorthBattleford with his new family and worked at a local car dealership.After retirement, he volunteered for various community organiza-tions, curled, gardened, and spent many hours with his adult chil-dren and grandchildren at the lake.

While standing at the pulpit, during the playing of the last post, Iglanced over at the montage of photographs that stood behindJohn’s funeral urn. Here was a photo of his wedding over 50 yearsago. Over there was a picture of John in his army uniform, withsome of his army buddies. Another photo featured John standingbeside a snow covered locomotive somewhere in the CanadianRockies. And of course there was a photo of John sitting in hisfavourite chair surrounded by grandchildren and great-grandchil-dren.

Now as they say, I didn’t know him from Adam, which is often thecase in Legion funerals, but I couldn’t help but think during the

Ordinary?

I attend a lot of funer-als. Not because themembers of my con-

gregations are dying atan accelerated rate—but because I serve asPadre of Branch 70, ofthe Royal Canadian

Legion in NorthBattleford, SK.

We human beings have great value inthe eyes of God. We were created inhis image, destined to live in intimaterelationship with the Trinity—Father,Son and Spirit. The Bible teaches us

that when Adam and Eve were createdthey initially experienced that relation-

ship, but tragically rejected it, nolonger trusting their Creator. This deci-sion impacted how human history hasdeveloped, and accounts for the terri-

ble problems and suffering so commonin our world. However, due to God’sgreat mercy he has a plan of redemp-tion by which through the life and sac-

rifice of Jesus, humanity may bebrought back into relationship with

God again. We are destined to share inthe very relationship the Son enjoys

with the Father, as adopted children ofGod.

mournful playing of the last post—here was a man who lived his lifeto the fullest. He wasn’t famous in the way our society would definefamous. He didn’t have a lot of people going to his page onFacebook, or following his Twitter feed (if he had them at all).Instead, many would think his life was just, “ordinary.”

A week after John’s funeral, Thelma, a sweet senior lady who usedto attend my congregation passed away. We hadn’t seen her for afew years because she came down with Alzheimer’s. As a result,Thelma needed to live in a care facility that was closer to her fam-ily in Saskatoon. But upon her death, her family decided to haveher funeral in our community.

It so happened that my friend Francis, also officiated at Thelma’sfuneral. So I gave her a call to tell her my stories about Thelma. Itold her about how Thelma always brought fresh cookies for ourfellowship time after church, and how she helped us prepare andserve our annual fall supper. I included the fact she also regularlyvolunteered to make coleslaw for, and work during the beef- on-a-bun fundraiser for our food bank.

After I shared my stories with Francis, she related a few of her ownshe had learned from Thelma’s family. After our talk, Francisadded, “You know Bill, there are no ‘ordinary’ people.”

Francis put into words exactly what I had been thinking!

This discussion brought me to the time when I was giving my “Bethe hands and feet of Jesus” sermon a number of years ago in theBattleford congregation. Just as my latest admonition about beingmore involved in our community left my mouth I had this incrediblerealization. Staring back at me were the faces of those memberswho:

• sat with dying palliative care patients so that their family couldtake a break.• were involved of their condo association.

• sat on their local school board.• drove cancer patients to the can-cer clinic for their chemo treat-ments.• volunteered at the local foodbank .• provided a taxi service for theirfellow senior neighbours to thegrocery store or to coffee.

For the average observer it mayappear that these are just “ordi-nary” people—just like John the“ordinary” grandfather, or Thelma,the “ordinary” cookie baker andfriend. But what would the worldbe like if they never existed?

Michael Horton the author of thebook, Ordinary: Sustainable Faithin a Radical, Restless World(Zondervan 2014), in his article“The Ordinary Christian Life”makes the following observation:

“Ordinary does not meanmediocre. Athletes, architects,humanitarians, and artists canvouch for the importance of every-day faithfulness to mundane tasksthat lead to excellence. But even ifwe are not headliners in our vari-ous callings, it is enough to knowthat we are called there by God tomaintain a faithful presence in Hisworld. We look up in faith towardGod and out toward our neighbors

Vol.4, No. 1 March 2015Gary Moore

Editorial AdvisorBill Hall

Managing EditorLayout and Design

Colin WallaceOnline Edition Editor

Northern Light Digest is pub-lished 4 times annually forn-members of the GraceCommunion InternationalCanada. Editorial contributionsand comments on any issueraised in Northern LightDigest are welcome althoughunsolicited materials may notbe returned. Please addressall correspondence to:

The Editor,Northern Light Digest101 - 5668 192 Street,Surrey, BC V3S 2V7

or email us at:northernlight@gcicanada.ca

The new online edition ofNorthern Light Digest is avail-able at www.gcicanada.ca

Unless noted otherwise, scrip-tures are quoted from the HolyBible, New InternationalVersion, © Copyright 1973,1978, 1984 International BibleSociety. Used by permissionof Zondervan Bible Publishers.Photos: © Designpics.com

Send all address changes to:Northern Light Digest101 - 5668 192 St.Surrey, BC V3S 2V7email:northernlight@gcicanada.ca

©Be

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in love and good works. You don’t have to transform the world tobe a faithful mom or dad, sibling, church member, or neighbor.”(From Ligonier Ministries and R.C. Sproul. © Tabletalk magazine.Website: www.ligonier.org/tabletalk)

Yes, there are no, “ordinary” people.

This is especially the case when it comes to how our Triune Godviews each and every person. It is one of those profound truths thatwhen I think about it, still makes me stand in awe.

The writer of the book of John when writing to his audience aboutJesus, penned the now familiar words: “For God so loved the worldthat he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not

perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world,not to condemn the world, but that the world might be savedthrough him” (John 3:16-17, RSV).

Would God have lived among us and died for us, if he thought wewere only “ordinary”?

Bill Hall

Leaving a Legacy Gift

Over the years our church has benefited from the regular donations of our membership. Weekly offerings collected at church serviceshave enabled us to support the various ministries in local congregations along with national and international initiatives.

Another way individuals have supported our denomination is through leaving a Legacy Gift. Such Legacy Gifts are an important way inensuring a lasting gift to Grace Communion International Canada through estate planning.

There are several ways to leave such a gift:

Bequest through a willThere are several forms of planned gifts, but they are usually gifts that are pledged through an individual’s will.

A gift of stocksThis can also be made through ones will.

A gift of life insuranceThis allows one to make a significant contribution to the church for a relatively small payment.

If you should choose to make a legacy gift, your financial advisor, along with discussions with your family, can help you determine thebest options available to you.

Legacy donations that are directed to Grace Communion International Canada will benefit the work of the Canadian denomination,while donations directed to local congregation (Grace Communion International Canada with the name of the local congregation, orcity location) will be credited for the use of the local congregation.

(Grace Communion International Canada still holds the registration, Worldwide Church of God Canada and any previous Legacy giftsusing that name will still be credited to our church)

“Ordinary does not mean mediocre.Athletes, architects, humanitarians,and artists can vouch for the impor-

tance of everyday faithfulness to mun-dane tasks that lead to excellence. But

even if we are not headliners in ourvarious callings, it is enough to know

that we are called there by God tomaintain a faithful presence in His

world....” Michael Horton