Fw: known only to God

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Monday, September 12, 2016 10:44 AM
Subject: known only to God

There is a county park not far from our home called Freedom Park.  It is 600 acres of bike and hiking trails, nature trails, a zip line for fun and a botanical garden.  I've just recently explored it and found it a great place for jogging.  As they were developing the park in recent years they discovered a cemetery with 150-200 unmarked graves.  These were slaves and descendants of slaves who lived and died in the area from the late 1600's to the early 1800's.  None of the graves was marked with any kind of permanent stone and that's not surprising because a headstone would have been a luxury slaves couldn't afford.  After the remains were found and dated they were returned to their resting place.  The park built a simple memorial out of brick and engraved a brief description of the people found there with the closing phrase: "Known only to God".  It occurred to me that these were people who had lived hard lives and owned virtually nothing and whom history would not note for any major event.  But, like all people they were created in the image of God.  They are eternal beings.  Time may have passed by and the cemetery become overgrown by grass and trees.  Successive generations may have lost track of the location of these people.....but God has not forgotten who they are and where they are.  I'm confident that at least some of these humble people had placed faith in the Lord Jesus and are now with Him in Heaven.  And one day their resurrection bodies will be raised, along with millions of others from marked and unmarked graves around the world.  They might have been forgotten by men but never forgotten by their Creator.  After all, they may be "known only to God" but being known by God is the only knowledge that truly counts for eternal life.

-

John 10:^14 "I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep." [Jesus talking]

-

blessings,

Rob Smith

-