Kingdom Building
October 3, 2019
Scripture Reading:
2 Timothy 1:1-14
I am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. –2 Timothy 1:3-7
My third paternal great grandfather, John Knott, travel from Pennsylvania to Illinois in 1834 to homestead on land that was ceded to the United States in the disputed 1804 Treaty of St. Louis. The indigenous peoples of several tribes who identified with the land fought for it in 1832 led by Black Hawk a leader of the Sauk tribe. The event was dubbed The Black Hawk War. Once the land was cleared of the indigenous people, it was made available for homesteading. As I researched my ancestor’s history, I found a note that said, The first church services among whites was held in John Knott’s home. I knew he was raised in the church. I had found records of that in Pennsylvania so that did not surprise me. What was interesting to me was the phrase among whites indicating that some of the indigenous people of that area had most likely practiced the Christian faith. I do not know if my relative had any hand in recording that record or if the keeper of the history had thought it was important. It is highly possible. French missionary Jacques Marquette was a Jesuit priest assigned to work with the indigenous people along the Mississippi in 1666. Just as Timothy could trace his faith lineage, according to the above scripture, I and my ancestor John and his ancestor William could trace our faith history back generations so perhaps could some of the indigenous people.
If we are to rekindle the gift of God that is within us, we must learn to see it in one another. If we are to answer Christ’s call to be one, we must do so with a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.
Prayer: Lord, I cannot imagine how you must feel when you see your children mistreating one another. Forgive us when we assume you are our possession, not our God. 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.