HUP 1 – November 4, 2025

Smiling, the old man asked the gathering of mixed generation Christians: millennials, Gen X’s – Zs… married…  single. Hup had prayed that the day would come he could be a part of such a gathering. He prayed as David prayed: “Even when I’m old and gray, do not forsake me God, till I declare your power to the next generation.”

Why was it so important?

Because he had the faith audacity to believe that God’s testimony in his life was worth telling to the next generation, and they’d just might agree. 

“So. Do you want to hear my two cents or not?” Hup asked.

“Go on, Hup,” a young man called out from the back of the room.

Hup met Tim in a Dunkin’ Donuts. He approached Tim when he saw him reading the Bible. They talked about Jesus, and Hup explained his desire to serve the Lord by sharing with the younger generation.

“How’d you get the name Hup?” a young woman asked and smiled. 

 “It’s a derivative of hupandros… New Testament Greek”

“Meaning?” a young guy asked. He stood in the back beside Tim. 

“Husband. Was for forty-three years. Wife died. When she lived, she gave the marching orders, Hup 2,3,4.”

A smattering of laughter spread across the room. He saw one of the young women elbow who he believed was her husband. He laughed too hard… possibly exposing a similar cadence and call in their own home. He could hear the drill instructor: ‘Time to wash the dog and car… the game’s not on till after four… sound off, one – two; sound off, three -four.’ 

‘How’d you feel about that? the one who elbowed her husband asked. 

“Short marches, fine. Forced marches? Not so.”

“Ex-Marine, right?” a slightly older thirty-something asked. She had read his bio. 

“Former Marine, Miss. X marks a spot – blemishes and past marriages.

Again, a smattering of laughter. 

“I don’t say that to make light of our relationships and the difficulties that come between husbands and wives, parents and children… BFFs becoming BFNs

“BFNs?”

“Best Friends Not? I can say that – right? Without sounding ridiculous?”

Again the laughter.

“If I do, that’s probably a Spirit-directed segue into my first thought: We need to show each other grace… You know the parable. Jesus spoke of a man who was forgiven a great debt – more than he could repay if he worked a hundred lives, the span a thousand years.”

“He was forgiven but threw another man in prison for not paying up on his.”

Hup mused: by the looks of the lad, a Gen Alpha. “That’s right,” Hup said, “Of course, I don’t know how far we go with that parable.

“What do you mean, how far?” Tim called out.

“Well, it takes us into the question of the nature of the grace shown to the man. Was it saving grace or common?”

“Saving or common?” another asked, unfamiliar with the terms.   

“Saving grace promises heaven but assures neither sunlight nor rain on earth. Common grace? God treats everyone alike, where his providence allows the sun to shine and rain to fall – whether good or evil.”    

The class became quiet at that point. In a way, God had sent his rain there, and it was time for things to soak in.  Next up? Hup 2. 

 

        

 

 

 

The Apostle Paul said it, ‘Whatever is done without faith is a sin.’ Of course, when we hear something like that we tend to balk, if not curse God. Then again, that’s to be expected. We’re all sinners, and those who live in, and love the world, they tend to see any mention of sin as a real buzz kill. We wanna do what we wanna do, and there’s a lot of things we wanna do that… well… if we do have faith, we hope to survive the night. Yeah, and if it seems I’m making light of the subject, I hope so – for your sake. Yes, but I’m not making light in the sense to dismiss the seriousness of sin and its consequence. I’m grappling with that myself – everyday. The Lord God is just and justifier. He’s the One who’ll bring harsh judgment. As for me, I’m coming to grapple with sin and its grip, as I hold this two cent coin:

Heads:  ‘Give thanks always for all things, and
Tails: ‘Do all things in faith.’