First Published on Wednesday, March 30, 2011
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.
2021 Reflection: These words from 2011 no longer need to be left to the imagination.
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