Tag Archives: God’s Children

Evil Divides

Living in the Spirit

November 10, 2020

Scripture Reading: Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18
Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is at hand’
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice,
he has consecrated his guest.

-I will bring distress upon people.
That they shall walk like the blind;
Because they have sinned against the Lord,
their blood shall be poured out like dust
And their flesh like dung.
Neither their silver nor their gold
Will be able to save them
On the day of the Lord’s wrath;
In the fire of his passion
The whole earth shall be consumed;
For a full , a terrible end
He will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

My intellectual self does not deal well with scriptures like the one above that describes God quite differently than my God who is love. My spiritual self can identify with getting fed up with complacency in the face of issues that desperately need to be addressed whether in personal lives or in society. Several years ago, a loved one was heavily involved in activities that were clearly missing the mark in my judgment. I prayed that God would forgive that person’s sins. I was immediately struck by a strong message that it was not my place to ask for forgiveness for this other or any other. Ever since that event, I take very seriously Jesus’ statement that he is the judge not me or anyone else. The social worker in me, however, does not ever want to give up on anyone and I think we can speak truth to life situations when needed without passing judgment as we walk with others through challenging times.

Problems arise when the actions of some are detrimental to others in society. Here we face the call to do justice, which inevitably involves dealing with individuals or groups oppressing other individuals or groups. I note that all the references in the scripture above are descriptive of society, people together with caring or not caring for one another. Is that indicative of forces of evil working to divide and conquer the children of God?  How do we turn around from evil’s interference and reclaim the wholeness that comes from the love of God? I think it starts with each of us turning to God and seeking insight into whether or how much we have been caught in such a web of evil and turning away from it. We then must reclaim our roles as members of the Body of Christ charged with bringing the whole world into the fold of God’s loving care.

Prayer: God of Love and Mercy, forgive me from any form of behavior that is detrimental to the development of your vision of our world. Open my eyes to see where I am a part of problems we face whether by my complacency or my overt actions. Show me the better road to follow.  Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

God’s Children

Eastertide
April 12, 2018

Scripture Reading: 1 John 3:1-7

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. –1 John 3:1-3

We are told from the first book in the Bible that we are made in the image of God. The more we understand God the more we understand ourselves. I am participating in a study of the book of Hosea which deals among other things with idolatry. This group just finish reviewing Amos and Joel, so we have been dipped deeply in the prophets’ disdain for idol worship. The scary thing is they each describe our society today. We do not have many golden calves left but we certainly have our own set of other gods to worship. Most are carefully crafted in whatever style makes us feel better and reflects our values. The obvious problem is we are called to reflect God’s values.

All humans are children of God, created in God’s image. Since we all do not look or act alike what does that mean? Perhaps the answer lies in Jesus’ summary of the most important commandments to love God and to love one another*. Is the capacity to love our reflection of God’s image? Love certainly is a large portion of what it means to be made in the image of God.

I like M. Scott Peck’s definition of love, defining it as wanted the very best for another. But we cannot merely view love in as a one-on-one relationship. It is indeed, but it is also a one-on-many relationship and a many-on-many relationship. Of course, the ultimate love relationship that is the model for all types of love is the love between God and God’s creation, which is a paradox of being unconditional and ultimately binding.

How do we extract ourselves from the web of lesser gods that always are conditional and never last? We must fulfill our makers design of being made in God’s image by letting go of all the conditions we place on others while building relationships that stand the tests of time.

Prayer: Lord, help me see others as you see them making me better able to love them as they are and as you see them becoming. Amen.

*Matthew 22:35–40 and Mark 12:28–34

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Relatives Through Christ

debtorsprisonChristmas
December 30, 2016

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 2:10-18

Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.
–Hebrews 2:14-18

I grow weary of competition among the nations. There are no borders in the Kingdom of God. We are called by God to want enough for every man, woman, and child in this world. I must desire a living wage not only for every citizen of the United States, but also very every citizen of Mexico, the Congo, and, yes, Russia and China. If I want peace and safety in my hometown, I want it for Chicago and Aleppo too.

Genealogy is a great equalizer. I have met a first cousin eight times removed through my research. I have not been able to verify it fully, but I believe one of my ancestors and his father came to the USA in 1759 on a prisoner ship from England. What behavior had resulted in their deportation, I wonder? Many came from debtor’s prisons, others as thieves and some for brawling. Or I could be mistaken and that family line, as other researchers believe, may be the offshoot of a nobleman whose son came to the USA on a lark in 1618. The son became landed gentry. I have a rather fanciful vision of DNA tracing us all back to the same starting point. Wouldn’t it be interesting if we all had to accept that we are all at least cousins? Isn’t that what the creation story is trying to tell us? Isn’t that the message Jesus taught?

Prayer: Lord, enable us to view your world through your eyes to see the solutions you intended since the beginning. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Gerrymandering Gentiles

north-carolina-congressional-districtsAdvent
December 2, 2016

Scripture Reading: Romans 15:4-13

‘Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles,
   and sing praises to your name’;
and again he says,
‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people’;
and again,
‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
   and let all the peoples praise him’;
and again Isaiah says,
‘The root of Jesse shall come,
   the one who rises to rule the Gentiles;
in him the Gentiles shall hope.’ –Romans 15:9b-12

Who are the Gentiles in our world today? The Greek translated “Gentile” is the word ethnos. We might think of the English word ethnicity. The definition of ethnos is a race, people, nation; the nations, heathen world, Gentiles; people joined by practicing similar customs or common culture*. Essentially Gentile in the New Testament refers to anyone who is not a Jew. Today we must consider who we cast in the role of “Not My/Our People.” There seems to be a lot of that going around recently.

I just saw a picture of the Congressional Districts in North Carolina. An appeals court recently ruled that the gerrymandering done in North Carolina was illegal and they must redraw it. The Supreme Court will likely have the last word. The picture is interesting. Some Districts were apparently, unofficially designated the African American district as they meanders around a large section of the state picking up one big area and multiple small pockets of the population all largely composed of African Americans. What the gerrymander did was box in an area to limit the number of African American supported candidates while reducing the power of African Americans to impact other areas. Gerrymandering designates someone’s Gentiles.

Paul quotes several** Old Testament sources to create this treatise in our scripture today on God’s welcoming Gentiles. Perhaps he wanted to say to the Gentile Romans that God always had them in God’s heart. Perhaps we need to hear that lesson ourselves.

Prayer: Lord, help us to see all humans as being made in your image including each of us and in so doing empower us to love them as your children and our siblings by treating them justly. Amen.

*http://biblehub.com/greek/1484.htm
**Psalm 18:49, 2 Samuel 22:50, Deuteronomy 32:43, Psalm 117:1, and Isaiah 11:10

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Becoming One

God's childrenAdvent
December 14, 2015

Scripture Reading: Micah 5:2-5a

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
   who are one of the little clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
   one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old,
   from ancient days.

Therefore he shall give them up until the time
   when she who is in labor has brought forth;
then the rest of his kindred shall return
   to the people of Israel.
And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord,
   in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great
   to the ends of the earth;
and he shall be the one of peace.

 If I counted right, I have 42 first cousins on my father’s side of the family some of them around my father’s age. I have two first cousins on my mother’s side. Therein, lies the difference in a larger clan and a smaller clan. Funny, because I was raised nearer to my father’s family, I know that massive flock of 42 better than the two from another state. They lived about three times the same distance from where my family lived as Nazareth is from Bethlehem. We, of course drove, rather than walked or road on a donkey, to visit. We made the trip a couple of times each year, often at Christmas. My Dad’s clan rented one of the buildings at the fair ground for its family reunion. My Mom’s family fit nicely in my grandmother’s house. Bethlehem was the ancestral home of King David and it is surprising that it was a small clan. How many wives did Solomon have?

Micah is taking us back to the roots of Israel scattered throughout the known world described as lost tribes. Micah foresees the children of God reunited as one again and led by one coming from a very small clan, one without a natural force of relatives from which to form a mighty army. Micah understands the breadth of God’s peace and nurture as the strength of God’s people. We should also.

Prayer: Lord, help us invest our lives in being a part of your peace and your nurture as we welcome all of your children to your reunion. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Being Proactive for God

Sick ChildLiving in the Spirit
Light a Candle for Children
September 15, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Exodus 16:2-15

 The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’ —Exodus 16:2-3

In our society we waste a lot of really good energy avoiding the realities that we face. We want to have our cake and eat it too very much like the Israelites did. Our government reflects that we expect the government to solve problems while at the same time we rant about the size of government being too big and our taxes too high. What results is that instead of offering services that are proactive and that recognize that our citizens are our greatest resource, we provide emergency services that are too little too late and most likely cost us more in real dollars, but certainly in human capital, than we would have spent had we address issues before they got out of hand.

 The mother’s seven year old son had had a drippy nose and lots of “colds” from birth. The family had never had insurance coverage and rarely sought health care unless it was an emergency. It just cost too much. Anyway, all kids have runny noses from time to time. The family had a marginal income and were even in the process of buying their home on a rent-to-buy contract. The father, got into some trouble and ended up in prison, but the mother fairly quickly got a good paying job. Nine dollars an hour was better than minimum wage. There were no benefits though, no insurance. The son had one of his worst colds ever. Mom had missed worked for two days already. On the third day the son seemed so lifeless when the mother touch his head and found he was burning up. Mom raced him to the emergency room where he was immediately placed in ICU. She called her boss to say she would not be in again that night. He said, “If you don’t come in tonight, don’t bother to come back at all.”

 The boy had such a severe sinus infection that it had broken through to his brain, it was touch and go for some time, but at least with no income the family now qualified for Medicaid for him. Ten years later and six major surgeries, the son is doing great. He was diagnosed with serious allergies for which he is now being treated. The Mom lost her home. She could barely make the payments after her husband went to prison anyway.

We, like the Israelites fleeing Egypt, must pull ourselves together and deal with the realities of our world, in a proactive disciplined manner until all God’s children are doing at least OK and on target to be the people God created them to be.

Oklahoma Fact:   in 2011, 10% of children had no health care coverage* (The vast majority of these children come from working families who would have qualified for Medicaid had Oklahoma participated in the expanded coverage provisions of the Affordable Care Act)

Prayer: Merciful God, take the energy we expend in complaining and turn it into action that will enable all of your children to become fully the persons you created them to be. Amen.

 *Definitions: Children under age 18 who were not covered by health insurance at any point during the year. Health insurance includes private sector insurance generally provided through work, as well as insurance provided through the public sector, such as Medicare and Medicaid. Children receiving health insurance through a variety of new State Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP) are counted as having health insurance. The figures shown here are 3-year averages of data. http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/7251-children-without-health-insurance?loc=38&loct=2#detailed/2/38/false/867,133,38,35,18/any/14294,14293
 All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.