Wow – I just went through this week’s readings. Strange stuff.
Genesis 9 – 10 are not the two chapters of the Bible I camp out in often. The story of Noah’s drinking and being naked is a strange one. And his sons’ responses show some cultural rules that seem strange to me. But I get that Ham was disrespectful in how he looked at and talked about his father. While the other two boys were very careful in how they responded to their father’s poor choices.
It does make me think about how we talk about and treat people who are addicted. That even in the midst of their bad choices and plights, we are called to a have a respectful attitude remembering they are children of God. That might be a bit of a stretch from the text, but it is where my mind went.
Genesis 10 is a list of the offspring of Noah’s sons. Some of the names are familiar and some are not. Again, this is not an awe inspiring chapter, except that the details and the names remind me that, while I might be tempted to sometimes think “story-time” when I read about Noah, the details speak to historical truth. As does the story of Noah’s being drunk and naked. Noah is a hero in the preceding chapters and drunk in chapter 9. The Bible seems more believable as we see it records the highs and lows of its heroes.
This weekend, the pastor Willow Creek’s (church in Chicago) urban campus (Pastor Steve Wu) resigned due to “sexual impurity”. The details have not been released but it is obvious this is a painful chapter for Steve and that church. Up to this point Steve has been known as a devout follower and highly promising leader. He will submit to a healing process and I hope continue to grow and be used of God.
But it reminds me that we are all Noah’s. We can build arks for God one day and be drunk and naked the next. It calls me to humility and to cling tightly to God for I do not wish to be the next Noah.
As you read Proverbs 5, you will see a connectedness to what I have already written and to events taking place in Chicago.
Finally in John 5 we read of a man sitting by a pool of healing. He had been sitting by that pool for 38 years. When Jesus sees him he asks “do you want to get well?”
Let me try to elicit some comments by asking, why would Jesus ask such a question to a sick man who had come to the pool for 38 years! And what application does that have for us?
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Could it be that Jesus wanted to know if the man had given up hope of getting well? As long as he still still desired to get well, he was worthy of helping and saving. For us this would mean as long as we want to improve ourselves (avoid sin), we can still be saved? Because Jesus says to "stop sinning or something worse may happen to you".
ReplyDeleteBy the way, that was a great question, it made me go back and read that passage a little deeper.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Jesus’ question to this man is for me to question what my role in my faith is. This man continued to go to a place for 38 years that provided him no healing. The man said that no one helped him and others got ahead of him. Where was his responsibility in it? If it wasn't working for him why keep going..if he couldn't get in without someone getting ahead of him why not ask for help? What part do I own in seeking and growing in my faith? What or where do I go to looking for healing is it Christ or some where else?
ReplyDeleteI just got caught up with my reading last night. Your email was spot on about week 4! I had let it slip, but now I am back on track.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the passage in John, I think sometimes, we cling to our weaknesses or sins because they are comfortable. It is all we have known. If we accept the need to change, whether by miraculous healing or just making a decision, then we have to get out of our comfort zone and respond. We can no longer fall back on whatever it was - we lose our excuse. The man in the passage will now have to work for a living. When my sins are revealed to me, now I have a choice to make. Repent and draw closer to God, or keep sinning and pull further away. I know I have done it both ways!
Right on Amy, we can talk all we want (sit by the pool) but to actually ask for God's help and know that it will change our life is another thing all together. Some people don't want to be a Christian because they know it will change their life, what they don't realize is that it is sooooo goooood.
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