Fire Escape

Today's passage:  Genesis 18-19:1-15
     I don't have one central thought for this post, but many random thoughts strung together.  My usual approach to reading a book in the Bible is to read a chapter at a time (I rarely get to read more than that and many mornings only a few verses in a chapter).  With Genesis, many events continue into the next chapter, so I find myself reading on.  I can't believe just how much I had forgotten or had not noticed since reading this book last.  It is amazing to me how God brings things to my attention that I didn't see before. Life experiences can further color what I see in His Word.

Abraham feeds three guests
Taken from Standard Bible Story Readers, Book Four
By Lillie A. Faris
Illustrated by O.A. Stemler and Bess Bruce Cleaveland
Standard Publishing Company, 1927

     So my first random thought is Abraham's prayer in the last verses of Chapter Eighteen.  I always pictured Abraham looking up into the heavens as he begged God for the righteous souls of Sodom, but forgot that the Lord Jesus is standing right there beside Abraham.  The Lord has just informed Abraham that He will be destroying the city, as He sends the two angels who accompanied Him ahead into said city.  Abraham begs and pleads with the Lord to spare the city if there be ten righteous men there.  The Lord agrees to this.  We see Abraham bargaining all the way down from fifty to ten, with the Lord agreeing to each plea.  I've heard it preached on many occasions, that Abraham stopped too soon.  Had he asked God for merely five righteous, might God had spared the city for even that?  But he didn't.  I think there is a reason that Abraham didn't.  He thought that there would have been at least ten righteous there.  Obviously, he and Lot had lost touch.  At some point, Lot's tent was no longer pitched toward Sodom, but pitched inside the city itself.  Abraham could not have known the effect this had on Lot and his family.  He probably did not realize that they were not the Godly influence they should have been.  In fact, when the angels go into the city to retrieve Lot, his wife, and two daughters, that is only four "righteous" souls that could be found.  Lot's other daughters had married ungodly men (I say this because they scoffed at Lot when he told them what would happen) and did not leave with them.  So even if Abraham had pleaded down to five, God still would not have been able to show mercy because there were not even that many righteous to be found.
     Here is my second random thought.  I'm not sure why the angels have to go into Sodom.  Was it only because they were going there to deliver Lot and the remnant of the  family that would leave with him?  In Chapter Eighteen the Lord says in verses 20 and 21, "...Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me, and if not, I will know."  So was it just a recon mission or a rescue mission?  If it is simply to deliver the warning to Lot and his family, I would be very embarrassed to be Lot.  Lot has to defend the virtue of his angelic visitors from the Sodomites (by offering the virtue of his daughters), a position he would never have been in had he not chosen to live and to stay in such a wicked place.  It can be argued that someone needs to be the light in the darkness, but in this case, Lot was not being the light.  I can tell this because his sons-in-law mock when he suddenly declares that God will judge them.  Why is he acting like a righteous man so suddenly? Had he been the light he was supposed to have been, not only might they have believed his message, but perhaps would have joined him in proclaiming it.  Of course, I can't know this for sure, since Noah also was a great proclaimer and nobody outside his family joined him.  But that is the key difference, Noah's family at least believed him.  With Noah, his wife and sons (who either married godly wives or influenced them to become godly wives) and daughters-in-law believed his message and went with him.  Lot's story of his family is tragically different.
     And finally, my third random thought is found in verses 16 and 17 which  read:  "And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.  And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him:  and they brought him forth, and set him without the city."   After all that has happened, Lot still has doubts about leaving.  He lingered.  God could have left him there, let the angels depart, and destroyed him.  I don't know if God spared Lot for Lot, or spared Lot for Abraham but the Lord is merciful once again.  Maybe Lot lingered because of the children he would leave behind.  Maybe he lingered because he couldn't bear to see his material wealth consumed.  I would love to assign a more spiritual motive to his lingering, such as his heart being bereaved for the souls of the city, but I think it unlikely.  But God is so merciful that the angels take Lot by the hand and drag he and his family outside the city gates before the fire starts to fall.  How merciful is my God!  He warns Lot of the impending doom, He even gives him a night to prepare himself, and even though Lot is still hesitant, God still delivers him.
     The fire is falling all around us.  God stays His hand each and every day because there may be a Lot in some city who is still hesitant to come to Him.  He doesn't drag us by the hand, as He did in Lot's case, but He gently beckons us to receive Him.  Some may be lingering.  He is waiting for you.  I don't know when He will return.  I don't know when Death will visit any one of us, but it could be today.  Are you standing in Sodom, still deciding whether to follow the Lord, waiting on the angel to grab your hand and make it more clear to you?  I'm not sure God will work like that today, but He gives clarity in His Word.  He may not grip your hand but He can grip your heart with His truth.  Come to Him before it is too late.  He wants to be merciful.  He wants each one to receive Him.  He wants to deliver us from the fire, because He does not want us to be consumed.  He is a God of great mercy, let Him show it in your life today.

Trust Worthy

Today's passage:  Genesis 12
    Abram and Sarai have not yet been blessed with children.  Abram is already 75 years old when God calls him to leave Ur and wander about the wilderness where He directs.  In that time, I'm sure that Abram had developed close relationships with nieces and nephews, particularly his nephew Lot.  Lot and Abram probably spent a lot of time together since it seems they both spent ample time shepherding.  Also, Lot's father, Haran, had died.  I don't know how young Lot was when this happened but the Bible tells us that Grandfather Terah was still living at the time.  I imagine that meant a few men in the family took on the role of father figure to Lot.  One of these men must have been Abram.  I'm sure that Abram and Sarai were more than happy to play Mother and Father to this young boy/man since they had no children of their own yet.  When it came time for God to call Abram away, I wonder if it was only natural that Lot went with them, or if after many emotional struggles at the thought of being separated did they decide this was the best course.  I had never stopped to ponder why Lot went with them.  It doesn't appear that he has a wife and kids at this time although verse 5 does say "...and the souls that they had gotten in Haran;..".  I don't really understand what that means, even after looking it up in commentaries and consulting my study Bibles.  The explanation is notably absent except to say that "souls" refers to people.  I kinda gathered that but what people they had "gotten" is still a bit of a mystery to me.  We don't read about Lot's wife until the whole Sodom and Gomorrah debacle so I think he must be unmarried at this point.  God does not mention that Lot's wife traveled with him.  So Abram, Sarai and nephew/son Lot along with some livestock and other mysterious "souls" travel to an unknown land.

God Tells Abram to Leave His Home
Taken from Standard Bible Story Reader, Book Three
By Lillie A. Faris
Illustrated by O.A. Stemler and Bess Bruce Cleaveland
The Standard Publishing Company, 1926

 
     Have you ever noticed that God asks Abram to do a lot of trusting in his life? I mean, I've always thought of the incidents separately but I have never really considered how much trusting Abram/Abraham was asked to do throughout his life.  God asks Abram to trust Him to lead him to a new land, sight unseen.  He asks him to trust Him to deliver the promise of an inheritance of lands and sons.  The Lord asks Abraham to trust Him to sacrifice that very son He had promised.  And it is no wonder that God keeps asking Abraham to trust Him so much, because this man does.  Maybe not always as perfectly as he should, but probably more perfectly than I would.  Yes, there are times in his life, where he lacks some faith and tries to do things his own way, and they don't turn out so well.  But he has a pretty good track record of trust, a trust so commendable that he is hallmarked in the Faith Chapter of Hebrews 11.
     I was thinking about trusting God so completely as Abraham did.  Women's greatest need is security.  We have a need to know where our home will be, where we will build our nest.  Can you imagine what a fit Sarai was having right about now?  "We are going to do what and go where?" And of course Abram just shrugs because he doesn't know either. Hebrews 11 doesn't really mention her faith at venturing out with her husband.  Her faith isn't mentioned until she had the strength to give birth to Isaac in her old age.  Abram was going to have to have enough faith for the both of them, because I picture them as nagging Golde and exasperated Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof packing up to leave Anatevka.  Lot is probably stuck in the middle of this argument, excited for a grand adventure, but wanting to soothe and comfort Aunt Sarai.  And they aren't exactly spring chickens anymore either.  This trip would also be exhausting (or exhilarating in Lot's case).
      To trust God so completely when you don't know where He will take you or what He will do with you is the ultimate display of faith in His leadership.  Abraham was able to trust God in the later issues of his life because God had proven Himself trust-worthy.  But what about this first time?  Abraham's trust here seems to be at its greatest because he didn't know what God would do.  Maybe God had proven Himself in small ways in Abram's life up to this point, but this is not a small thing.
      Soldiers trust their regiment commander.    Patients trust their doctors (or at least they used to). Defendants trust their lawyers. We are surrounded by situations where we have to trust others.  Why then, do we always seem to have so much trouble trusting God?  I mean, the trust I have in others could collapse.   An army general could wrongly assess a situation and lead his men into danger.  A surgeon could nick a wrong artery and lose his patient.  A lawyer could argue a case in a wrong manner and lose freedom for his client.   Many times I have no choice but to trust the people in my life.  So why do I make it a choice with God, when He has proven Himself throughout history to be the only One worthy of absolute trust?  Every time I fly in a plane, I am putting complete trust in the pilot and crew to get me to my destination.  Do I worry a little at take-off and landing?  Sure.  But it doesn't keep me from getting on the plane.  Yet, I don't always demonstrate that same trust in the Pilot who has a 100% success rate.
     Abraham trusting God is not just another sweet little Bible story.  When I think of how resistant I would be should God call me to a place He hadn't mapped out for me yet, how I would struggle to take even the first step, how my stomach would churn at the prospect of not knowing what to expect, it gives me an even greater awe for this man of God, and the wife who went with him (albeit possibly begrudgingly).  It forces me to reexamine how well I trust in the God who saved me.  I trust Him with my afterlife, maybe I should try a little harder to trust him with the before one.

What's in a Name?

Today's passage:  Genesis 10-11
     One would think with as many weeks it has been since I have posted something that I would be a lot farther in Genesis than just five more chapters in a month, but it has been a little slow going.  Numerous reasons for this, the first one being Youngest started getting up almost immediately after older brothers were off to school.  The first couple weeks of our new schedule he was sleeping until 7:30 or so which gave me significant time to get my devotions done.  But his sleep schedule adjusted so that he was waking up an hour or more earlier.  As hard as I would try, I could only get a few verses read.  I have also been subbing at my sons' school quite a bit the last few weeks, and most of those times, I didn't know I would be subbing, so some days my devotions were cut short by trying to get Youngest and I ready to rush out the door.  The last reason for my delayed progress is that I have run into the chapters that have a lot of names and places listed.  For some this might be tedious but I find them fascinating.  I've said before that I put great stock in names.  So even though it takes a lot of time, I look every name up to see what it means.  And though, I have not learned a lot by way of application from these chapters, I certainly have learned a few things.
     What I find very interesting is that people in the Old Testament generally gave their children a name that had meaning.  It wasn't a random process like it usually is today.  They were purposeful.  Knowing that, I look at some of those names and think, well of course he turned out like that, look at what you named him.  Nimrod is a good example.  Take a guess at what his name means.  Rebellion.  He is the one who led the building of the Tower of Babel.  Seems like he was named appropriately.  Another name meaning something similar and also very appropriate is Gomorrah.  It means rebellious people.  Well, we can see a little self-fulfilling prophecy right there.

Courtesy of http://breadsite.org

     Other names I found interesting was Hazarmaveth.  It means dwelling of death.  I wonder what was happening in that family's life at the time.  And the most depressing name meaning I came across was Jobab.   I encourage anyone reading this not to consider this name for any future children.  It means "sorrowful; hated". Equally as bad is Obal.  It means "inconvenience of old age".   When you research the names it really gives you a window into many of these people in the Bible of whom we know little.  For many of them, not much is said, very little meaning or significance attached, just a passing list that we read so we can claim that we have read our Bible through in a year.  Poor Obal was obviously an unexpected or unplanned pregnancy,  his parents too tired to deal with a whimpering infant.  It makes me wonder what kind of adult he became.  It should also be noted that Hazarmaveth, Obal and Jobab were all from the same family, sons of Joktan whose own name means "small dispute; contention; disgust".   Sounds like a functional family and also seems as if Joktan himself was not necessarily the happiest person on the planet.
      Does that mean that every person in the Bible lived according to his/her name?  Probably not.  But when I think that these names were chosen on purpose, it certainly could lend to a successful or defeatist outlook in life.  Don't you think?  Wouldn't it be harder to overcome a name like Obal, than say a name like Isaac which means "laughter" or Samuel meaning "asked of God"?  Wouldn't it be obvious to the latter two tykes that they were wanted and loved?  Poor Jobab couldn't have had a very high self esteem, and though I believe in our times that self esteem is too over-emphasized, I think that these parents probably started their kids on a wrong track at birth.  God doesn't really tell us about how they turned out, but maybe that is because there was really nothing to tell.  They lived.  They merely existed.  We have their genealogy but little else.  Perhaps that is because they did not do anything note-worthy.  The next major character we read about is Abram (high father), who thankfully has a much more positive name, even before God changes it to Abraham.
      In our day and age, most people name their children without giving a lot of thought to the meaning but that is because names today have been derived from so many different languages, that in most cases, saying a person's name is not saying that word.  But in Bible times, that was not so.  The name was that word or idea.  So every time someone said Isaac, they were using the word the name means.  " There will be lots of Isaac/Laughter at the festival today."   Conversely, anything that brought disgust was "Joktan" to them.  That animal carcass lying at the side of the road?  Joktan.  Obviously I am not a Hebrew scholar and have no idea if I am using those words correctly as nouns, verbs, etc.  but you get the basic idea.  These were words used in everyday conversation so it would not be unusual to hear your name uttered numerous times a day.   When you are constantly reminded of the positives or negatives of your name, I would think it would undoubtedly affect how you live.  But maybe I am totally wrong, and these children lived healthy, well-adjusted lives.  Judging from what Joktan named some of his children, I think the evidence is against it.
     So as I plow through Genesis, I may get bogged down in the details of a person's name, but maybe it will give me a little insight into that person's life.  Maybe even a person's name is a lesson in itself.

The Longest Life

Today's passage:  Genesis 5
     This is why I love reading my Bible--I get something new every single day. Lately, I have started to read the same passage for several days in a row because Youngest has decided he likes getting up earlier with his brothers.  This has kind of put a strain on my devotion time.  Some mornings I can read a few verses but do not get to study them out before the barrage of demands from my three year old start.  This doesn't mean I don't make him wait a little bit, but if you have had little ones, you can understand that they are still learning that "no" and "not right now" are not merely suggestions.
     I am not much of a mathematician.  It was always my weakest subject in school.  I usually still maintained A's and B's (except for Algebra 2 when I could never get above a C--thanks to logarithms).  Still, I think I was pretty fortunate to be able to even achieve those grades.  If I were to take those higher math classes now, I actually think I would do a lot better, because I think I've said before, the reasoning and logic skills finally kicked in for me around 30.
     Chapter Five is filled with numbers (oh joy!).  It is astounding to think of the lifespans of this time.  Can you imagine how much history these folks witnessed?  Can you believe how many civilizations they saw rise and fall?  If I were born nearly 800 years ago, I might have feared Genghis Khan as he invaded China, respected King John signing the Magna Carta, heard about Marco Polo visiting China.  In the 1300's I might have survived the bubonic plague or read John Wycliffe's English translation of the Bible. The 1400's ushered in the age of a New World, the civilization of the Incas, and the martyrdom of Joan of Arc. Should I have been alive during the 1500's, I would have perhaps seen Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa being painted, been a participant in the German Reformation led by Martin Luther, or opposed Henry VIII and his many marriages.  The 1600's would have me reading Shakespeare, befriending Pocahontas, sailing on the Mayflower in search of religious freedom.  Merely another century later I would be in Boston's Harbor for the Tea Party, heard Paul Revere's cry, attended our first President's inauguration.  The 1800's would bring an early threat to our newly established republic in the War of 1812, the lie of evolution, and a Civil War.
The early 1900's established an Industrial Age and two World Wars.  Later in this same century I would shake my head at protesters, at New Age thinking, at being able to have a home computer that used to occupy whole rooms.  In a new millennium I would prepare for the Y2K scare, text and twitter, weep for those lost in terrorist attacks and mass shootings.  So much history in that amount of time and much more that I have not even mentioned.

     Here's the interesting thing.  Methuselah lived to be 969 years old.  His son Lamech was born when Methuselah was a young 187 year old whippersnapper .  He was 369 when his grandson Noah was born.  I imagine he was able to teach Noah a lot during those next 600 years.  Methuselah survived his son Lamech by five years.  Methuselah was alive the year of the Flood.  Did he die sometime before the Flood came?  I don't know.  The Bible doesn't even tell us how he died, but if you do the math, it is clear that he was living the year the Flood came.  Of course, the most natural thing to wonder is if he died in the Flood, because we know he was not on the Ark.  Or maybe God took him beforehand.  Maybe Methuselah counseled with Noah about the Ark, or maybe he was one of those who derided Noah for building such a foolish contraption.  It would be a very sad thing if Noah's own grandfather had opposed him in this venture.  I hope that is not how it happened.  I hope that maybe Methuselah died before having to see all that destruction.  I hope that he hadn't stubbornly turned his back on the Lord, refused to be saved in the Ark and suffered in the greatest calamity that God had ever allowed on the earth.  Methuselah lived longer than any other person in the Bible, but it begs the question that depending on how he died, whether his life might have been even longer, or if it was cut short because he had fallen away from the Creator God.  Methuselah had seen a lot in his long lifetime. I wonder if he saw rain fall for the first time or if he was delivered before the rains came.  His own father, Enoch, had followed God so closely, that God chose to take him to Heaven without seeing death.  Might this have affected a relatively young Methuselah (he would have been 300 years old-already a father, but not yet a grandfather)?  Might he have had a stronger faith knowing God had taken his father to Heaven, or a weaker one, blaming God for not allowing him to spend more time with his dad?  Did everyone understand what had happened to Enoch, or did they just think he had disappeared?   Somewhere along the way, Noah understood what God expected.  Perhaps he learned it by his great-grandfather Enoch's example, his grandfather Methuselah's influence, or his father Lamech's teachings, but Noah learned enough to please God, and apparently Noah's sons, now young adults, took up a Godly heritage as well since they took refuge on the Ark.
     I don't think it is an accident that God included all the ages of these men and women in the Bible.  He could have said straight out, "Methuselah died the year of the Great Flood", or "Methuselah died in the Great Flood".  Maybe it is just one of God's ways to get us thinking, wondering, anticipating our time with Him when we can ask those questions.  I'm glad I have some to ask.  If I'm not studying His Word, and there are many days when I'm not, I might not have any questions at all.

Great Expectations

Today's passage:  Genesis 4
     I wonder what kind of man Cain was before he killed his brother?  It is obvious he was a very hard worker. This was after the fall, after the Garden of Eden, so the fruits and vegetables no longer grew without labor.  Cain put in the work.  He dug up the hard ground, he seeded, he watered, he harvested.  This was backbreaking work, as any farmer could attest.  This was day in and day out toiling in the field.  I don't know if Cain was assigned to this task by his parents, if his God-given skills naturally suited this kind of work, or if he just enjoyed agriculture and took it upon himself to learn how to coax the soil to do his bidding, but he achieved results.  Some might argue that Abel had the significantly easier job.  As the younger brother, maybe this was just the obvious task he could accomplish in their younger days, and incidentally kept that job while Cain kept the fields.  I'm not sure how it all transpired, but I think perhaps if I had been Cain, and I slaved away every day as he had, my nose might be put out of joint too when God did not accept my offering.
     The whole reason God would not have accepted my offering though, would have been because it was my work, not His.  My work will never be enough to satisfy Him.  My works will never purchase peace and pardon with Him, no matter how well it was done.  Abel couldn't really brag about how well he had kept the sheep, because honestly, there wasn't much to it, was there?  You feed them, you herd them, you make sure they have good shelter and you keep them safe.  I'm not saying shepherding was nothing work, but compared to farming?  I'm thinking Cain might not have minded exchanging jobs on occasion.  So when Abel offered up one of the livestock that he tended, it wasn't really a picture of how hard he had worked.  It was the offering that God required.  It may be true that Cain's produce would have been accepted if he had only offered God his best, but he wanted to give God the leftovers.  I'm still not certain God would have accepted anything but a living sacrifice.  I don't know that fruits and veggies would suffice.  I know later, God asks for different types of offerings, and loaves and other things other than animals were brought before Him, but in this instance, I think only the flock would satisfy. 

     So what should Cain have done?  Should he go to Abel and ask him to supply a sacrifice for him as well?  Would Abel have been willing to do this?  I don't know if their relationship was close or contentious. I know that Cain was a proud man.  The Bible says, "And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell."  How could God accept Abel's sacrifice and not his?  Didn't God know how hard he had worked?  Didn't God understand all the hours he put in?  And this brother of his?  What had he done? Not much, by Cain's estimation.  It seemed unjust.  It seemed disproportionate.  Surely God made a mistake and didn't realize just what was involved in managing the land.  Maybe God had forgotten, that he, Cain, was the older more responsible brother who had selflessly helped provide for his family.  I can see the thoughts swirling in Cain's head.  It just wasn't fair.  And how many times had his mother proclaimed him the savior of their family?  When he was born, she had said, "I have gotten a man from the LORD" implying that he was the accepted one that God had promised while they still were in Edenland.  How could God not accept him?  It was ridiculous.  How hard he had worked all this time, all these years, and God was going to tell him he wasn't good enough?  And worse, that Abel was?  What was going on here?
     Cain measures the rejection of his sacrifice with God rejecting him. But it is clearly not the case.  If it had been, why does God seek Cain out and encourage him to do better?  God says to Cain, "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?"  Cain would have to lay down his pride to do well.  But he wasn't willing to do that.  He wasn't willing to accept God's way, even though God's way is the only way.  He wasn't willing to recognize Abel's no-work-involved sacrifice.  Maybe Cain hadn't given God the best of what he had harvested, but it was still more than anything Abel could offer.  Sheep.  Humph!  What nonsense!  Cain was the Promised One (or so he probably thought).  Cain was the Firstborn.  Cain was the son who held all the family's hopes and dreams of deliverance.  Then to be flat out rejected.  It hurt.  It confused him.  It didn't make any sense.  And Cain never gets over it.  Instead of listening to God's warnings, instead of taking God's advice, he takes matters into his own hands.  He kills his brother.  He rids himself of the reminder that he was less.  He thinks that somehow eliminating Abel will somehow make his offering more acceptable to God.  Now who is ridiculous?  It does not have the desired effect.  God does not all of a sudden see how hard Cain has worked and say, "Oh yes, I understand now.  I do accept your sacrifice, Cain."  How Cain thinks it will work that way can only be irrational blinding pride.
     God never rejected Cain's offering on the basis that he hadn't worked hard enough.  He rejected it on the basis that no amount of work could help him.  He rejected it because it is by grace alone that He accepts us.  I shouldn't be surprised that Cain didn't understand this, because unfortunately, there are too many people today who still don't understand.  They can't see why all the good things they do will never, ever be enough to appease God.  They can't believe that all the work they have put in can never be acceptable.  They figure there must be some way to earn our way to God.  That is because they can't comprehend God's immeasurable love for us.  They can't understand a God who would sacrifice for us, instead of the other way around.  Why?  Because that is not how they would have done it.  It isn't how I would have saved this world either.  It is not how any idol or god requires salvation.  Every other religious system requires something from the believer.  Not God.  He just requires that we believe and accept His methods.  That we humble ourselves and accept His ways.  His way is to provide salvation for us.  Abel seemed to understand this.  Cain never would.  Maybe it is because he believed himself to be the way of salvation.  Maybe his parents voiced their belief that he would be their Deliverer once too often and Cain couldn't fathom that this was only his parents plan, not God's.  And there is no indication that Cain ever asks God for forgiveness or redemption.  In fact, verse 16 says, "And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD..."  Cain never gets it.  He could have, but his pride would not be overcome.  And humility is the most necessary ingredient to salvation.
     Cain was a hard worker. But it wasn't enough, not when it came to eternity.  It wasn't enough for him, and it will not be enough for any of us.  Cain never accepted or recognized that whatever holiness we pretend at, it can never measure up to God's.  The real question is, how many others will allow pride to hold them back as Cain did?  No matter what we have been led to believe in the past, our works are never enough.  Only God's work, by sending His Son to die on the cross will suffice.  It is the Abel sacrifice.  And it is acceptable.
   

Chosen

Today's passage:  Genesis 3
     I do not have teenagers yet, and still have a few years before I get to fret and worry over those challenging years.  I think about the hearts of parents whose teens have rebelled and strayed.  I think of the sleepless nights of the parents of young people who have chosen a different path from the one they were guided in.  The young adults who have strayed from the fold, choosing one that will no doubt lead them to destruction or even if rescued in time, still a lifetime of pain and regret.  It seems that every family has at least one child who rejects what he or she has been taught.  Some rebellion is seemingly slight, maybe skipping church from time to time, or going to the occasional drinking party.  The parents are unhappy with these decisions but are grateful that their children are still within their influence to possibly lead them in a better way.  There are young people who fall into an even greater rebellion, letting vices of alcohol and drugs lead them far away from spiritual influence.  Perhaps they fall into a wrong crowd--a gang, a cult, a drug den.  They seem beyond reach.  They seem beyond hope.  They seem beyond rescue.
     Looking back, remembering the early years when this prodigal took his first step, when she took her first bite of baby food, when he first said "I love you" and gave his Mama a kiss of his own accord, I doubt mother and father flash forwarded to the future to see him buying a dime bag, to visualize her with the gaunt cheek bones of a meth addict, to picture him facing the judge after driving while intoxicated.  I don't want to fathom the heartache and despair that these parents experience.  And even if they knew this is what their children would choose, would they ever have wished they had not been born?  Would there ever be anything my children could do that would have made me reconsider their existence?  Would there be any sin or act that they would commit, that I would think to myself, "I wish I had never given birth to this child"?.  I can't imagine thinking or feeling that.  I can't imagine any parent wishing or thinking that.  Would I wish they had made different choices?  Of course.  Would I pray that they would see the Truth, the Way and the Life?  Yes.  Would I do everything in my power to help and guide and lead them on the right path?  Undoubtedly. And sometimes the only power I would have is to pray.
     I'm reading about Adam and Eve.  God knew exactly what was going to happen.  He didn't blame Himself for the choice they were about to make, a choice that would change their relationship forever.  A choice that would have lasting consequences.  A choice that would change their whole way of life.  God was the perfect parent, and still they chose to do what was wrong.  God knew what they would choose.  And knowing it, He still created us. He knew that they would not be the only ones to make wrong choices.  He knew there would be many, many more who would make choices.  Choices that excluded Him.  Like any parent, He has done all He can to bridge the gap, to make a way, to provide rescue.  And like rebellious children, we still wander on our own.  How full is God's heart?

      After Adam and Eve sinned, and were judged, God provides the skins to cover them.  It is a picture of present and future redemption, the sin covering, but what a picture of love as well.  I don't see God just dropping these skins and harshly saying "Put these on".  I picture God gently and lovingly wrapping His children in His provision, not withdrawing His love from them, from us.  He didn't rue this day, wondering why He had created such rebellious creatures.  He could have scrapped them and started over.  It wouldn't have been very difficult for Him to do.  He knew there would be even more children who would choose the same way.  But He never says, "I wish you had never been born."  I would say that I can't understand that, but when I think of my own children, I can't imagine thinking that of them either, no matter how much pain and grief they may cause me in the future.  So maybe I can understand, because there is always hope that the prodigal son or daughter will return.  There is always the possibility that he or she will choose right instead of wrong.  There is always the prayer that our love will triumph over the evil that has ensnared them.  My love for my children isn't nearly as powerful as God's.  His love has reached into the deepest, darkest places.  His love has rescued the most unlikely.
     I shake my head at the impossibility of such love.  Then I remember that He also has seen me take my first step, not only towards my parents but toward Him.  He saw me dribble my first mouthful, not only of baby cereal, but of His Word into my heart.  He heard me say "I love you" to my parents and to Him for the first time unprompted.  He has seen me from the very start, and like any loving Father, He does whatever He can to help me.  Would we have ever been able to see how much God loves us if Adam and Eve had obeyed, even if that is what they should have done?  We would see how He loved perfect creatures.  We could never see that unconditional love is loving that which is imperfect.  We would never know just how far our God would go to return us to Him.  And any parent with a wayward child would be willing to take their pain and consequences if it meant that they would be restored.
     No, I would never wish for my children to have never existed.  I would wish for them to follow God.  I would wish for them to grasp His love.  I would pray for them to abandon their foolish choices or ways.  I would make the path of return plain and visible.  God must feel the same way about us.