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    Glimpses of Grace: Reflections of a Life in Christ
    Glimpses of Grace: Reflections of a Life in Christ
    Glimpses of Grace: Reflections of a Life in Christ
    Ebook122 pages1 hour

    Glimpses of Grace: Reflections of a Life in Christ

    By David G. Duggan

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    About this ebook

    When I was in my early forties, I began writing a regular column for the newspaper sent to Episcopalians in the diocese of Chicago. In Faithwalk, I tried to describe my struggles as a believing Christian set against my background as a lawyer, single parent, son of aging parents, and sinner. This venture in self-analysis continued a process of trying to square my life with Gods call to a Christian begun many years earlier, but the writing was, I believe, an insight into how God works in all lives. Though written from a Christian perspective, these essays should appeal to anyone struggling with his or her faith in a world that seems spinning out of control. And I believe that God uses nonbelievers as a fulcrum to test our own belief.

    Now in my early sixties, after the columns collected dust, I reread them, and I think they stand the test of time. So, I have decided to publish them in a book, adding a bit of commentary to provide the context. They have been arranged, not in the order they were written, but rather according to topic, topics suggested by the biblical narrative by which the Creator of the universe loved us so much that he sent his only Son to die for us. I hope you enjoy them.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWestBow Press
    Release dateDec 24, 2013
    ISBN9781490811789
    Glimpses of Grace: Reflections of a Life in Christ
    Author

    David G. Duggan

    A retired lawyer now part-timing as a community activist, David G. Duggan for a number of years wrote these essays for the Christian press. He lives in Chicago, plays golf and tennis, cycles, gardens, and tries to keep out of trouble. He has one son, a recently-minted MBA, living in Los Angeles.

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      Book preview

      Glimpses of Grace - David G. Duggan

      01.jpg

      DAVID G. DUGGAN

      40219.png

      Copyright © 2013 David G. Duggan.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

      WestBow Press

      A Division of Thomas Nelson

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.westbowpress.com

      1 (866) 928-1240

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      ISBN: 978-1-4908-1179-6 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4908-1180-2 (hc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4908-1178-9 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2013918790

      WestBow Press rev. date: 12/19/2013

      Table of Contents

      Heirship

      Living in the Meantime

      Commemorating Commitment

      The Passing of an Era

      A Mother’s Understanding

      A Father’s Son

      A Father’s Role in His Child’s Faith

      Vocation

      Toiling in the Vineyards of the Law

      The God of Covenant

      His Trial, Our Triumph

      The Tenant of Our Hearts

      The Ultimate Prize

      Turning the Other Cheek

      Creation

      The Light that Shines Through the Darkness

      Toiling in the Garden

      The Word Made Flesh

      The Building in Our Hearts

      Self-Offering

      The Blood of Redemption

      The Terror of Our Belief

      The God Who Transcends Time and Culture

      Answering the Call to Die

      Confessing the Faith in Christ Crucified

      Aging Gracefully

      Redemption

      The Lesson of the Wounded Healer

      The Path of Reconciliation

      Witnesses to the Resurrection

      The Love that Redeems All Things

      Thanksgiving

      Patching Up the Old

      Sowing the Seeds of Faith

      Recognizing the Stranger

      The Gifts of the Spirit

      The Widow’s Gift

      Freedom and Restraint

      Liturgy

      The Cup of Salvation

      The Paradox of Prayer

      Humbling Ourselves Before God

      The Music of God’s Angels

      By Whose Authority?

      Faith

      The Faith That Leads Us Home

      Struggling with a Smile

      The Light that Shows True Faith

      Seasons

      Preparing for a Breakthrough

      Trying to Enter Through the Narrow Door

      The Faith that Connects Us

      Holy Places, Holy Times

      The Angels of Our Lives

      The Meaning of Good Friday

      Afterword

      About the Author

      About these essays

      When I was in my early 40’s, I began writing a regular column for the newspaper sent to Episcopalians in the Diocese of Chicago. In Faithwalk, I tried to describe my struggles as a believing Christian set against my background as a lawyer, single parent, son of aging parents, and sinner. This venture in self-analysis continued a process of trying to square my life with God’s call to a Christian begun many years earlier, but the writing was, I believe an insight into how God can and does work in all lives. (I almost wrote all believers’ lives. While I am not inclined to believe that Christ saves all regardless of their baptism, confession and communion, I accept that a divine, omnipotent force can do as He will. And I believe that God uses non-believers as a fulcrum to test our own belief.)

      Fast forward 20 years, and the columns have collected dust, but on re-reading them, I think they stand the test of time. So, I have decided to publish them in a book, adding a bit of commentary to provide the context. They have been arranged, not in the order they were written, but rather according to topic, topics suggested by the biblical narrative by which the Creator of the Universe loved us so much that he sent his only Son to die for us. I hope you enjoy them.

      Chicago, IL 2013

      HEIRSHIP

      Introduction:

      For better or worse, our ancestors give us that first glimpse of grace, an insight into the divine desire to create, sustain, reprove and ultimately love us. I was blessed by having parents who were deeply committed to each other and, as long as their children were under roof, to having them raised in a Christian household. Not that our faith was worn on our sleeves or touted to the exclusion of others: we were taught tolerance of and respect for all, but also the importance of sacrifice and perseverance. My parents and grandparents were rewarded with long life, and the privilege of seeing their children and grandchildren achieve some measure of temporal success: but even more a continuation of that faith which through their examples they tried to impart. Sadly, in my own life, I was not able to replicate their example of a life-long commitment; yet my son hasn’t held that against me (or his mother). These essays try to show how we live in the mid-point of a tradition that began on a cross and ends in eternal life.

      Living in the Meantime

      My father just celebrated his 80th birthday. At the party in his honor, he recalled that when he turned 21 and became eligible to vote, he did not know if he would make it to his 22nd. Under orders from his Commander in Chief, he was prepared to sacrifice all for the cause of freedom in this world, never certain of his reward in the next. Grateful for having reached his ninth decade in good health and prosperity, he asked for a moment of silence for those who did not live to see that day.

      Sixty years and half-a-dozen full-scale conflicts after my father’s wartime pondering, we appear no closer to the goal of peace promised by the Prince of Peace. Some may find that discouraging, but in those years, world population has doubled, world-wide life-expectancy has increased 50 percent, and world hunger—as a percentage of those who go to bed hungry—has declined. More importantly, the Gospel is preached in places that had been at the ends of the earth. The Kingdom may not yet be at hand, but it is less far away.

      Jesus was remarkably cryptic about the coming of the Kingdom. Wars and rumors of war, famine, pestilence, earthquakes. St. John writes about horsemen of the apocalypse, the seven-headed Beast and the final battle between the forces of good and evil. People will take these as literal pre-figurements of the end times, and look to the events of 9/11 and their aftermath, but how is what we are going through now any different from that which has occurred during the past 20 centuries of conflict and waiting.

      Early on in the history of the Church, followers of the Way questioned when God was going to reward them for their faithfulness. St. Paul did not mince words. The Lord will come as a thief in the night, he wrote the Thessalonians. To those who offered a secular blessing of peace and safety, he warned, destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. In the meantime, we are to work with our hands, be self-controlled and encourage one another by putting on faith and love as a breastplate and the hope of salvation as a helmet. These are

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