Pray let there be no quarreling between me and you, between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brother men!
Brothers will hand each other over to be executed, and fathers their children.
Imagine, if you can, a most despicable scene:
Great trouble comes upon the world; the enemies of God are in charge. As throughout history, their solution to the problem of God is to kill His children. Soon, to save their own lives, people begin turning in their own family members.
I have two brothers, and a sister. They each have children.
My cousins on my mother's side, are like brothers and sisters to me. Those on my father's are, with me, part of a very strong line of family closeness. The Darrs love to be together.
And now, thanks to the Internet, I am reconnecting with second and third cousins. What a wonderful thing when you can find these relations, look at them and see the family resemblance! In a world of billions of people, your third, fourth, and fifth cousins are closer to you, than you know!
One of the benefits of being in a family is the sense of security and belonging.
Bullying is a big topic these days. Everybody wants to end it. But when I was a child, nobody messed with me, even bigger kids, because I was "Little Darr." My older brother, you see, was tough, and respected by his peers. He was "Darr" and I was "Little Darr." As a result, I became a little guy that the older, tougher kids would defend, even if my brother was not around.
And when we moved to Michigan, to a different school and community, where these relationships could not be formed, I benefited by having a sister that dated a member of one of the tough, local farm families. My future brother-in-law's younger brother was my age. He was big and tough, and because of my connection to him, I was once again spared any ill treatment.
By the time I was in high school, and the bigger kids that would protect me began to graduate, I had gotten so used to not being messed with, that I simply refused to be mistreated by anybody. One time, these pot-head guys tried to toss me into a dumpster. I swung my arms, kicked, and did whatever I could, to prevent this from happening. I think that I found a reserve of fierceness that I had never revealed before. I got away from them, and they never approached me again. I was Little Darr.
Imagine the idea of family closeness, belonging, and protection dying away in an age of persecution. It is unfathomable to me. What could be more hurtful than your own brother, or parent, or cousin, saying "I never saw him before", in order to save their own skin?
Abraham and Lot rose above all this. They said, "Nothing must cause us to become enemies. We're family!"
Cultivate your family closeness. I believe it is one of the major points of God's plan, from Genesis to Revelation.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Genesis and Matthew XXIII
YHWH said to Avram: Go-you-forth from your land, from your kindred, from your father's house, to the land that I will let you see.
Jesus sent out these twelve after first giving them orders saying, "Don't go off on the road to the pagans and don't go to the Samaritan city. Instead go after the lost sheep of the Israel family.. . . "
The command, Go, is frequently repeated in both Testaments. Here Abram is told to go to a land that God will show him. Land is an important promise. God created the earth for us. He commanded us to have dominion over it. The American Dream is all about owning property. We desire our own land. Because of Abram's faith, he was given land for himself and the nation that was to come out of him.
Christ also commands his Apostles to Go. Here, before his death and resurrection, before the Great Commission, he sends them out, as a sort-of training exercise.
Abraham goes, in expectation of a promise's fulfillment. He has only himself and his wife.
The Apostles go, back into the family Israel. Their mission is to recover and restore the nation that came from Abraham. But in the New Covenant, there is a twist.
One command is to go out, into the unexpected. The other is to go back in, to restore what was lost; to remind the people of their birthright, to call them to claim the inheritance that God first promised Abram, when he was told to Go.
The details are left out of these narratives. Unlike most epic journeys from Ancient mythology and legend, Abram does not meet up with monsters and witches. The journey was not the point; rather, the destination was the point.
The Apostles are told to avoid anything that would make their quest "interesting." Turn neither to the right nor the left. The mission was simple: go to the family Israel, remind them, proclaim the Kingdom. Return them to where they were before.
In God's true plan, we are not here to entertain with tales of heroism and valor (although Abram and the Apostles were that and more!). Rather, we present the simple message of God's love, and His promise to us.
Jesus sent out these twelve after first giving them orders saying, "Don't go off on the road to the pagans and don't go to the Samaritan city. Instead go after the lost sheep of the Israel family.. . . "
The command, Go, is frequently repeated in both Testaments. Here Abram is told to go to a land that God will show him. Land is an important promise. God created the earth for us. He commanded us to have dominion over it. The American Dream is all about owning property. We desire our own land. Because of Abram's faith, he was given land for himself and the nation that was to come out of him.
Christ also commands his Apostles to Go. Here, before his death and resurrection, before the Great Commission, he sends them out, as a sort-of training exercise.
Abraham goes, in expectation of a promise's fulfillment. He has only himself and his wife.
The Apostles go, back into the family Israel. Their mission is to recover and restore the nation that came from Abraham. But in the New Covenant, there is a twist.
One command is to go out, into the unexpected. The other is to go back in, to restore what was lost; to remind the people of their birthright, to call them to claim the inheritance that God first promised Abram, when he was told to Go.
The details are left out of these narratives. Unlike most epic journeys from Ancient mythology and legend, Abram does not meet up with monsters and witches. The journey was not the point; rather, the destination was the point.
The Apostles are told to avoid anything that would make their quest "interesting." Turn neither to the right nor the left. The mission was simple: go to the family Israel, remind them, proclaim the Kingdom. Return them to where they were before.
In God's true plan, we are not here to entertain with tales of heroism and valor (although Abram and the Apostles were that and more!). Rather, we present the simple message of God's love, and His promise to us.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Genesis and Matthew XXII
But when they had come as far as Harran, they settled there.
Then he says to his students, "An ample harvest, and few workers. So ask the harvestmaster to send workers out into his fields."
It is hard to resist commenting on the meaning of the town name: "Harran."
Terah, with his son Abram, daughter-in-law Sarah, and grandson Lot, traveled from their native land, towards Canaan. As we saw earlier, Canaan became a great power in those times. It is where the commerce was happening. There were "jobs" there. Perhaps they set out to find a better way of life. Terah is an old man, and one of his sons preceded him in death. Abram, who himself was in his middle years, had no children and was free to move around. This extended family group was like families still are today: hanging together, taking care of one another. But Terah is the one in charge. Abram is just a poor unfortunate man with no son to carry on the name. I can imagine that his identity was meager. He was just one of the family members of Terah, the son with no sons, and no regular job.
They come across a village called "Harran," which means, "Crossroad." It is here that Terah was to die, and where Abram became free to step up to the plate. It is where he first heard God's call on his life. The Gospel is a story for every generation. Starting in Adam, successive generations have the seed of the Gospel planted in some important historical figure. A seed is planted right there in Harran; a very important seed. At the Crossroad of Abram's life, a new root is about to take hold, one that will play a central part in God's unfolding plan.
God once again uses a family. Families are designed to stay together. If we can only get the families to stay together, to help each other, to support one another . . . then what need would there be of governments, indeed, of churches?
A pastor friend put it to me once: "I am a minister because families do not do their jobs. If they did, then I would not be needed." Hmmm . . . .
Imagine the seed being planted right there at Harran, thousands of years ago. By the time of Christ, the fields are fully grown. In fact, the harvest is ample. So many people out there, adrift, lost, lonely, missing in action! They are groping along. Now please think about this, reader: they are lost because they do not belong to the most important thing . . . a family!
Our call is to our brethren here on earth. How can we advance the Gospel - build God's Kingdom - while conveniently leaving our own flesh and blood to fend for themselves? I know people that have shared the Gospel with others, but have never offered a hint of it to their own brothers and sisters!!
And once we have figured out that the harvest is really our own immediate families (like that of Terah), then it is no small step to extend it out further, to our cousins, our second cousins, our third cousins . . . until ultimately we can see that we touch every other person on earth!
We are workers in the fields. Start with family.
Then he says to his students, "An ample harvest, and few workers. So ask the harvestmaster to send workers out into his fields."
It is hard to resist commenting on the meaning of the town name: "Harran."
Terah, with his son Abram, daughter-in-law Sarah, and grandson Lot, traveled from their native land, towards Canaan. As we saw earlier, Canaan became a great power in those times. It is where the commerce was happening. There were "jobs" there. Perhaps they set out to find a better way of life. Terah is an old man, and one of his sons preceded him in death. Abram, who himself was in his middle years, had no children and was free to move around. This extended family group was like families still are today: hanging together, taking care of one another. But Terah is the one in charge. Abram is just a poor unfortunate man with no son to carry on the name. I can imagine that his identity was meager. He was just one of the family members of Terah, the son with no sons, and no regular job.
They come across a village called "Harran," which means, "Crossroad." It is here that Terah was to die, and where Abram became free to step up to the plate. It is where he first heard God's call on his life. The Gospel is a story for every generation. Starting in Adam, successive generations have the seed of the Gospel planted in some important historical figure. A seed is planted right there in Harran; a very important seed. At the Crossroad of Abram's life, a new root is about to take hold, one that will play a central part in God's unfolding plan.
God once again uses a family. Families are designed to stay together. If we can only get the families to stay together, to help each other, to support one another . . . then what need would there be of governments, indeed, of churches?
A pastor friend put it to me once: "I am a minister because families do not do their jobs. If they did, then I would not be needed." Hmmm . . . .
Imagine the seed being planted right there at Harran, thousands of years ago. By the time of Christ, the fields are fully grown. In fact, the harvest is ample. So many people out there, adrift, lost, lonely, missing in action! They are groping along. Now please think about this, reader: they are lost because they do not belong to the most important thing . . . a family!
Our call is to our brethren here on earth. How can we advance the Gospel - build God's Kingdom - while conveniently leaving our own flesh and blood to fend for themselves? I know people that have shared the Gospel with others, but have never offered a hint of it to their own brothers and sisters!!
And once we have figured out that the harvest is really our own immediate families (like that of Terah), then it is no small step to extend it out further, to our cousins, our second cousins, our third cousins . . . until ultimately we can see that we touch every other person on earth!
We are workers in the fields. Start with family.
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