August 2009 Archives

I recently had the privilege of interviewing Tedd Tripp. I asked Tedd to list four important truths that he believes that parents should weave into their parenting based upon his interactions and experiences in teaching families.  Tedd listed these:

Man was made for stories. We remember stories. We laugh at stories. We cry over stories. We are motivated by stories. Why? Because God made us to love stories. The legacy of a culture is told by narratives, not by encyclopedias. Even in a culture as bent on moving away from God as our current one is, there are still biblical stories etched into the minds of people in our culture. These biblical narratives transcend ideological barriers. The Prodigal Son, The Good Samaritan, the Christmas Story, and others speak of a God who may not be as easily dismissed as cultural elitists believe. While these narratives are often marred and confused in the culture, they still remain, and they still bring conviction to people. Themes of lostness, hope, and redemption resonate with the human spirit. For those who do not know Christ, these great themes may serve only to disturb rather than comfort--but still, people are drawn to stories. Examine the lists of the all-time most popular movies. The one thing these movies all have in common is that they tell memorable stories.

The narratives of the Old Testament are a rich resource for God's people. We have been looking at Deborah in the book of Judges. Even though the events of Deborah's life took place over 3,000 years ago, God has things for us to learn from her story. Here are some of the qualities that all of us, and women in particular, can learn from the narrative concerning Deborah.

Ruth made a comment questioning whether Deborah should be a role model for women today. I thought that someone might raise this issue, and I am thankful that Ruth has provided the opportunity to respond to her concern. Was Deborah usurping the role of a man? Was she failing to trust God to provide male leadership in a time of great need? Let's take a look.

The time of the Judges was a dark time in Israel's history. The Israelites had quickly abandoned the responsibility to teach their children about God in their day-to-day life. God became marginalized as the people enjoyed the blessings of the land that God had won for them. By the time Joshua died a new generation had grown up--but this generation did not know God or all of the things he had done for Israel (Judges 2:10. The people did not see the land as a gift from God but rather they viewed it as an entitlement. The faithful worship of God became a relic of the past. As Israel meandered through the years during the time of the Judges, their focus became so self-centered that the last verse of the book of Judges gives this indictment against them:

Your comments are a valuable part of this blog. An example is a recent comment made by Jennifer regarding the news story about the confrontation between the police officer and the college professor in Cambridge, MA. This confrontation made headlines worldwide and sparked charges of racism and profiling. Jennifer and her husband make a good point that is easy to miss among all the sound bites and sensational headlines. Here is her comment:

Anger has come to dominate the headlines. Members of Congress have ventured out from the safe haven of the Washington Beltway back to their home states. Their reception by the home folks has been less than peaceful. Many constituents have exchanged the traditional summer grilling of hot dogs and burgers for grilling their congressional leaders. One hallmark of town hall meetings has been anger. The proposed healthcare plans by the Senate, House, and White House all have provisions that have fed angry interchanges at meetings across the country. Since all of the plans for health care reform are still just plans, it is difficult to debate what might be. Nevertheless, as concerns are raised about such provisions as end of life counseling, rationed health services, government funding for abortions, mandatory family counseling provided by the government, and the possible demise of private health insurance, tempers and fears run rampant.

Twice in the final chapter of Job God makes this statement about Job:

For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. Job 42:7-8

This is surprising, perhaps, in light of Job's reaction in chapter 3 to the tragic events that had befallen him. He is obviously speaking in agony after his overwhelming loss. Job curses the day he was born. He questions why was he born. He laments the calamities of his life. He ends his first rejoinder to his friends with these words:

                                For my sighing comes instead of my bread,
                                                and my groanings are poured out like water.

For the thing that I fear comes upon me,
                and what I dread befalls me.
I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;
                I have no rest, but trouble comes." Job 3:24-26 ESV

USA Today reports in its August 7 edition that two mountain villages in southern Switzerland have determined to ask God not to continue to shrink the massive Aletsch Glacier. Since 1678, villagers from the mountain hamlets of Fiesch and Fiescherta, which lie at the base of the glacier, have vowed to live virtuous lives if God would stop the advance of the glacier and thus spare their lives. After 400 years the villagers are concerned that their prayers have worked too well. So now these folks have petitioned the Pope to allow them to change their vow and now to ask God instead to stop shrinking the glacier and to reverse the impact of climate change.

This is the second in a series of posts responding to a comment from Jeffery Adams. In the last post we looked at the pain and suffering of Job as he dealt with the loss of possessions, servants, and all of his children. Job's response to these events was to respond to his great God in worship. As the text of Job says:

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."

Jeffery Adams submitted a thought provoking comment on the post, "What Makes Bad Language Bad." I believe it is important to discuss because it is true that there are events in life when appreciation for the sovereignty of God appears to collide with our difficult experiences in the cursed creation that we inhabit. Jeffery is raising this question: Is there a word or phrase that is appropriate to say in response to such situations? For example, the headlines this morning are filled with the story of the shooting deaths of women at a fitness center near Pittsburgh. What do we say to this event? The Bible says that God is sovereign over even the out-of-control rage that leads a man to murder. Jeffrey describes the pressure of "life and  death situations," perhaps the kind that a medical professional might encounter, where even though the best human efforts were made, things still do not turn out well. What do you say? I have copied Jeffrey's comment below:

People are made for friendship. God designed us to be social creatures. The only thing that was said to be "not good" before the Fall was the fact that Adam was alone. In making this statement, the Holy Spirit tells us just how important human relationships are. The divinely ordained sequencing of events in Genesis speaks volumes about the importance of friendship and human interactions. God made Adam. God gave Adam the responsibility of caring for the garden. Then God had Adam name all of the animals. So we know that God communicated with Adam and gave him specific tasks to accomplish. Yet, God makes the observation that there was still no suitable helper for Adam. Remember that the Holy Spirit is recounting these events for our benefit. Don't think that God is sort of making things up as he goes, as he finishes the creation process. We do that--it is very human for us to evaluate the things we accomplish and make adjustments along the way, as we see what works and what doesn't. But God doesn't operate that way. This sequencing of events shows that God intentionally designed Adam to be in relationship with other people. Just as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit existed in perfect harmony and relationship before creation, so Adam was made to live in harmony and relationship with other people.  God created Eve and then created the relational structure of the family to be a constant reminder that humanity is to be dependent, submissive, relational and purposeful in all of life. Let's break this down.