First Published Thursday, February 24, 2011
Two sons were born to Ever: the name of the first one was Peleg/Splitting, for in his days the earth-folk were split up . . .
And as he passed through there Jesus was followed by two blind men shouting, "Have mercy on us, son of David."
We keep seeing this fracturing of humanity in the generations following the Flood, and then a magnetic effect of the Christ, as he walked the earth.
Let's review . . .
* God creates Adam and Eve, and gives them full authority over the earth and its creatures. This is a great deal of power and responsibility to give the young human race. Within a generation, power is already abused more than once: Adam and Eve foolishly seek knowledge for which they are not ready; and then their son Cain murders his brother Abel. Curiosity killed the cat, and ruined humanity. Cain took "have dominion" to a ghastly, but accurate level, by taking the life of his own brother. The first earthly family begins to fracture as soon as the first generation reaches adulthood.
* By the time of Noah, violence runs rampant on earth, as humans everywhere assert their dominion over everything and anything, including other humans. They do what feels good, disregarding any kind of natural consequences. Quite possibly, humanity stands on the brink of self-extinction, (sexually transmitted diseases? Pestilence? Famine? War?), if not for God stepping in, saving Noah and his family, and restoring order . . .
* Within the first generation of the righteous man Noah, his own sons begin to split apart, resulting in a curse upon one of them.
* Just prior to the incident at Babel, humanity has not only spread far apart, but this time its selfish deeds has the aspect of efficiency and strength in numbers. We have learned how to form alliances, collaborate, build empires. Once again our advancement is rushing ahead at a rate greater than our capacity to handle it. Perhaps technology was advancing at a fast pace! This time God causes the earth to fracture even more, by confusing our languages so that cooperation among wicked empire-builders would be unlikely.
But in a quiet village of Judea, thousands of years later, the son of God walks about the moral chaos of the Roman political system, which has established order through its might only. And as he goes about, blind people are drawn to him like steel needles to a magnet.
March, 2021 Addendum: Four years ago, today, my Dad died. He established a large and faithful family group that surrounded him at his deathbed. He built, saved, invested, shared, and presided over a family that reflected his values of steadiness and structure. He was a student of the Bible, and had a disciplined prayer life. His life was orderly. He said "I'm not worried about myself. I've lived a good life and I'll be okay. I am worried about your mother." I assured him that there were twenty of us that would take care of her.
But in four short years that world itself has gone dangerously chaotic and disorderly. My mother's life has become one in which people build houses within whispering distance of her back door, where before there was a five-acre, undeveloped field. Her beloved dog has shown signs of aging. Her grandkids have scattered into everything from intense business activity to involvement in the social chaos itself. She can no longer just go out into public and be herself. She has to remember a mask and to be prepared for questioning about vaccines and "safety" protocols. She said "I may not catch covid, but this will kill me!"
My life purpose has centered around two things: music and family. I have strained to build and sustain family ties, often reaching out to distant cousins. It has been a gratifying and necessary pursuit.
But then, this morning, I awoke and planned to reflect on Dad's life throughout the day. I opened Facebook, to see that there was a message waiting from a certain relative. I thought "How nice, perhaps he has remembered what today is". But instead, I read something that could only be explained as an attempt to separate a large group of us into two bitter groups, forever.
Unbelievable.
Humanity desires disorder, for whatever reason. Unless God steps in and establishes order, we descend, every time, into chaos. Human behavior itself, in the ordinary affairs of daily life, always proves that everything in the Bible, about the world, humanity, sin, death, and redemption, is real, and true.
I have in mind, to reveal the contents of this message. I also am being compelled to get out of my shell and share more details from my experience that are all too real, too revealing, and too painful. I don't see any other way back towards order.
Chaos has to be slapped in the face.
No comments:
Post a Comment