A couple of days ago I received the following message through the Public Safety Ministries Inc. contact form….
“We need a word…”
Dan, you’re probably way ahead of me, but I look forward to hearing what words you have to say about the bridge collapse in Minneapolis.
Yes, I was ahead of the reader, the next morning I wrote of my thoughts and feelings on the bridge tragedy, but it was written for another venue, an article for the MN Chiefs of Police Magazine. Out of respect for that publication I won’t share that specific message here until the magazine is published this fall.
However, in response to the readers request here is a word, actually three, to reflect on :
Chaos…….Order…….Faith
The first two are a bit redundant to the message I have shared before. As Pastor Jac said, “There are two opposing forces in this world, order and chaos. I thank God that you people (Public Safety Professionals) are there when the two collide.” Once again, that is the message we all need to continue to hear, we need to continue to acknowledge, that the presence of our police, fire and emergency medical service personnel is a blessing we all share and the primary reason we all are blessed with a feeling of being safe.
Now faith, there is a word that hasn’t got a lot of play from me. At least not in print. But after a fair amount of reflection this past week, the 6 month anniversary of my retirement from the EPPD, faith is the word that says the most in this ministry. I’ve looked hard at words lately. I have always loved words, what they mean, how they inspire, how they influence and teach. Just yesterday I met with a friend of mine who works in advertising. He offered to help me with marketing the identify of this ministry. Along with spiritual fitness, public safety, order and chaos, service, protect, and many other great words, I kept coming back to faith. It is a strong word, but also a gentle word. It is the word that is at the foundation of this ministry.
I know that there are other definititons, but here is the one I give you today, the one that I revert to when I need to ask why? It is the one that, I think, will be seen here a lot more in the future.
Faith is a belief in something bigger than self.
So there is my word (plus a few) on the subject. Faith is what happened on the bridge, in the water, on the shore, in the living rooms, at the hospitals. It is why these heroic people, the professionals and the volunteering bystanders had last week. A belief in something bigger than self.
