Genesis 32:22-31

     My father loves the former World Wrestling Federation (WWF).  Dad spent Sunday afternoons watching the likes of Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, Ric Flair, and Hacksaw Jim Duggan (Ho!).  I know what you’re thinking.  Does a pastor actually watch men beat the living tar out of one another?

     Sheep are wayward creatures.  Some sheep get lost because they don’t pay attention to their surroundings.  They’re too busy focusing on their next meal.  Other sheep deliberately leave the flock.  They have a rebellious spirit that refuses to heed the shepherd’s call.

     As a fisherman, I have a complicated relationship with the lotus. The American lotus is a wildflower that grows around the edges of ponds and in river backwaters. The fragrant yellow flower can open to a width of ten inches.

     The blossom appears to float on the water yet is rooted in the muddy soil beneath the surface. The submerged rhizomes form a thick mat that can entangle fishing lines and frustrate anglers like me. Coveted fish like walleye and largemouth bass also are prevented from inhabiting areas covered with lotus.

^“So those who are last will be first. And those who are first will be last” (Matthew 20:16, CEB).

       I recall Ted Turner once saying, “If only I had a little humility, I’d be perfect.”  We’ve all met people like Ted who, if they didn’t outright repeat these words, they most certainly put them into practice.  Oftentimes, such persons are the very ones staring back at us in the mirror.

     Between Cincinnati and Columbus, a large sign displays a rather direct message on the eastern side of I-71.  With white lettering painted against a black backdrop, the sign declares:

Hell Is Real.