Where Do I Stand with God, with Man?

Our existence on earth is primarily an attempt to establish relationships. Our lives are meaningless if we try to exist in solitary confinement. The basis of all valid relationships is love. We cannot create love; we can only accept it as a gift from God. Therefore, our first love relationship must be established with God, and with that relationship intact, we can then turn to other humans. Our success and/or failure in life will depend on how well our thoughts and actions channel Gods love to others. At the close of our life, no other accomplishment will matter.

My life was shaped by being a child of the Great Depression because of the demands of working as a child and growing up as part of a family with seven children. I served for five years during WWII. I experienced a call to the Christian ministry and struggled as I worked my way through Davis and Elkins College and United Theological Seminary. I have been further influenced by my experiences during more than twenty years as a pastor and serving many more years in related and unrelated fields. I have always felt compelled to write, mostly as a means of clarifying my own thoughts and ideas.