And the LORD God commanded the man, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17 NKJV
I used to wonder why Adam and Eve just didn’t keel over after biting the apple. After all, God said the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. But they didn’t, did they?
I remember when my kids were young giving them warnings: don’t run out in the street or you’ll get hit by a car! Don’t touch the stove or you’ll get burned! Don’t pull the cat’s tail or you’ll get scratched!
And that stuff didn’t happen, because as parents, we did what we could to prevent the disasters we predicted. Or when it did, we did everything in our power to save our child from the consequences of their actions and minimize the pain.
I’m thinking, like a good parent, God also did what he could to save Adam and Eve: he performed the first atonement sacrifice in which blood was shed to pay for the sin. Then he covered his children with the skins of the sacrificed animal. This served three purposes: it covered their physical nakedness, it symbolically covered their spiritual sin through the atonement, and it served as a constant reminder of their sin and God’s love for them.
And did you notice? God didn’t take away the consequence. He mercifully let them eventually die. In death, they were finally freed from the consequences to stand whole and pure before God again.
Fortunately, we don’t have to do sacrifices to cover our sin, as Jesus paid the ultimate price to purge and cleanse us. Just like Adam and Eve, though, we still have to face the consequences of our actions. But it’s nice to know we have a loving parent, and a big brother in Jesus, who are waiting there to welcome us with open arms when we are finally freed and are headed towards home.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Genesis 1:3
Am I the only one who was perplexed that Light was the first thing God called into being, yet the sun wasn’t created until the fourth day? Day one: light. Day two: the earth’s atmosphere. Day three: land, sea and plants. Day four: the sun, the moon and the stars.
Huh.
I don’t think the “light” was a light source as we know it. I’m thinking this was in reference to Jesus Christ.
There are many references in the Bible where Jesus is referred to as Light:
John 1: 4 and 5 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
In Psalms 27:1 The Lord is my Light and my salvation – whom shall I fear?
Psalms 104:2 He wraps Himself in light as with a garment.
Isaiah 60:19 The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light.
Christ Jesus was given the title first born of creation in Colossians 1:15, so he was there at the beginning of everything and creating everything. Not only was he at the beginning, he will also be at the millennial reign: There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
And if we follow Christ, we are also in the light: John 8:12 I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
I do curb duty one week each month at my school. I don’t care for standing out there in the cold, so I do what I can to jazz it up a bit. I’ve begun wearing funny hats and outfits. It makes people smile and laugh. My coworkers think I’m nuts. So be it.
If anyone asks me why I do it, I tell them this story:
I picked my son up from school a few years ago, and he asked the usual question: “How was your day?” So, I told him.
“Well, a kid threw up in my room, the copy machine jammed up again, and I forgot my lunch. All in all, it was a good day.”
Joe stared at me. “Mom, you had a rotten day.”
I shook my head. “Son, a few days ago, I watched a video of kids in Haiti eating dirt cookies because their mothers were too poor to feed them anything else. https://youtu.be/s3337cj4sJQ I’ve seen pictures of kids drinking from mud puddles who have no clean water.
All around the world, people are starving to death, being sold as slaves, abused or abandoned, living in refugee camps or on the streets.
We have a home. Your dad and I both have decent jobs. We are all healthy. Any day that doesn’t include a financial upheaval, a trip to the ER, or a call from the police is a good day.”
He thought about that a moment and then replied, “Mom, you had a good day.”
People wonder how I can stand at the curb in the morning wearing goofy hats or dress up in outlandish Christmas outfits. It’s because the good days in my life greatly outnumber the bad ones. Not all of the children I work with can say that. No all of my coworkers can. I don’t dress up for me. I dress up for them. To see them smile. To let them have one funny moment to start off their day with. It’s one small thing I can do for them. If I can cheer them up a little, then it’s mission accomplished.
So, Happy New Year, and may 2020 bring you and yours nothing but good days.
Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10: 7-10
Anyone who thinks being a Christian means a life of leisure and roses doesn’t know much. Jesus promised to give us life more abundantly. Jesus wasn’t talking about a life of abundance, its a life more abundant. So, what is life? It’s bills and scrapes, stress and tensions, ups and downs. And Jesus says that will be more abundant. That doesn’t sound too desirable, does it? But, the cool thing is God has promised be there during those times. That doesn’t mean he takes the trials away, but it does mean He’s there in it with us. Take a look at what I mean:
After a season of unemployment, my husband Ernie, got a contract job in Michigan, 800 miles away from our home in Kansas. I had quit my job to be home with the kids and Ernie was flying home every other weekend to see us. After a few months of this, we decided to move the family to Michigan to all be together. We’d gotten one load of furniture moved up there when the big bosses came through and informed all the contract workers that they would be done at the end of the week.
So now Ernie and I were both unemployed, with half our stuff in Michigan, half in Kansas, and everyone now living in Kansas. Welcome to our life more abundant. Luckily, God didn’t end it there.
After a few months, Ernie got a new contract position, this time in New Jersey. He hated it there, but was making good money and flying home every other weekend again to see me and the kids. Like all contracts, this one too came to an end and Ernie went back to Michigan to see about getting our furniture there back to Kansas. Instead, he found another job. It didn’t pay as well as a contract job, but it was work. We took it as a sign from God and, over Easter weekend, he flew back home to help us move the rest of our stuff to Michigan.
This was life more abundant with all it’s stress and upheaval, and it was about to get even more abundant. But God remained with us.
On our way to Michigan, I was driving through Missouri with the three boys, Joey now 3, Ryan 7 and Chris 10, in our mini-van. Ernie drove the U-Haul truck. We hit a traffic jam while passing through Springfield and crawled along the highway at 20 miles an hour.
My cell phone rang. “Where are you?” Ernie wanted to know. I let him know what exit number was coming up.
“I’m about two miles behind you at the side of the road,” he said. “There’s a problem with the truck.” A few minutes prior another motorist had flagged him down. The front driver tire on the U-Haul was smoking. When Ernie pulled over, it’d burst into flames. Luckily, the other motorist had also pulled over and had a fire extinguisher. When the tow truck arrived and lifted the U-Haul, the affected tire flopped over, hanging at an angle.
If he had been driving at full highway speed….
You get the picture. More of our abundant live, but now showing God’s protection.
The U-Haul company got all our stuff transferred to a new vehicle and we made it to Michigan a day behind schedule. Ernie went back to work, and I got our older two sons enrolled in their new school. Luckily, Ernie had already found us a church and one of the ladies told me she would watch our youngest while I was job hunting. I needed to find something quick because Ernie’s paycheck would barely cover the rent, and we also had bills and food to worry about. We’d maxed out our credit cards moving and were on very limited funds. Fortunately, God was still looking out for us.
I was offered a good position in a nursing care facility. A group of us new employees were there for orientation that Friday, at the end of the month. We were shown around the facility and told we would all start on Monday, the first day of the new month. Benefits (health care) would start on the first day of the month AFTER we started.
Oh oh. That would be a problem. Our family wouldn’t have healthcare for another month. Two of our kids took medication. Ryan’s were $300 if we had to pay out of pocket.
I explained the situation to the HR lady. She handed me a manual. “Go sit in that room and read this,” She said. “We’ll put you down as having worked half a day. Your health benefits will start on Monday.”
This is abundant life, with God’s provision. And my first paycheck arrived two days before our rent was due. Boo-yah! Way to go, God!
It didn’t end there though. God’s hand, and our abundant life, went on:
Chris had taken our move very hard. Grandpa had lived just around the corner from us in Kansas, and he and our 10 year old had formed a strong bond. Chris was now in a new school – much larger than his old one, had gone from small town to living in the city, the mom who had been home for him was now working, and Grandpa was 800 miles away. Depression and loneliness set in.
Once again, God intervened.
Our new church was small and had only 15 kids attending. One was a baby. Three were Joey’s age, eight were Ryan’s and three were Chris’. Two of those were boys.
Charlie and Alan readily took Chris under their wings and the three quickly were being referred to as “The Three Amigos.” That friendship lasted up through high school and the three still get together when they are all in town.
That’s abundant life, with lasting warmth and friendship.
Yes, the Christian life is a life more abundant, with its twists and turns and stresses, but God can always been found in the middle of it, protecting and caring for His children.
Then Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My Father.” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said,”Look, here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the offering?”
Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering.” And the two of them went on together. Genesis 22:7-8
If you grew up going to Sunday school, you know the story of how God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a sign of his love for his Creator. Father and son head off together. “Where’s the lamb for the sacrifice?” the boy asked. His father’s responded “God will provide.” Abraham tied his son down to the altar and, at the very moment Abraham was preparing to plunge his knife into his son’s heart, God sent his angel to stop Abraham and he pointed out a ram caught in the bushes. Abraham was instructed to sacrifice the ram instead, and God was please with Abraham’s faith, even to the point of giving up his beloved son.
Did Abraham know God was going to step in and spare his son? Did he think God might raise his slain child from the dead? I don’t know, but I do know he was totally willing to follow his LORD and had faith that God would provide a way. He’d even told his servants to wait for them until they returned. Did you catch that? Until THEY returned. He knew Isaac would be with him.
Back in 2003, our family had a “the Lord will provide” episode. My husband was downsized from his job of 20+ years and he found himself unemployed in small town Kansas. Now granted, we had inklings that this might happen. The company he worked for had been bought out by another company and they were paring down the workforce. We toyed with the idea of him looking for a job closer to Kansas City where we both had family, but we liked our small town. Six years of hemming and hawing caught up with us and Ernie’s job was downsized.
He was devastated. He was the primary breadwinner, and there was no way we would be able to make it on my income as a speech therapist in a small town Kansas district.
Fortunately, Ernie’s company had given him a severance package to get us through the next six months. Ernie started looking at home and in neighboring towns for work. There was nothing out there. Six months went by with nary a nibble.
Ernie applied for unemployment and cast his net further: Kansas City, Joplin Missouri, Wichita. There was nothing to be found. The net went farther: nationwide. Finally nibbles started coming in from Baton Rouge Louisiana, Pensacola Florida, Saint Louis Missouri and Grand Rapids Michigan.
My school year was ending, and my district was wanting to know if I would be back the next term. It was a dilemma as to what to do. The district was an hour drive from home. Ernie had no sure prospects yet, but should I made a commitment to my school, knowing we could be moving at any time? Our finances were quickly being depleted. Our children qualified for medicaid, so their medical expenses were covered, but if I quit my job, I wouldn’t qualify for unemployment and we would be solely supported by Ernie’s unemployment benefits.
Ernie and I talked it over. We had no options left but to put our total trust in God, praying he would honor our faithfulness and trust in Him. I gave my district my notice. As summer was ending, nearly a year to the day of his termination, Ernie got a call offering him a good paying contract position in Grand Rapids Michigan.
“The LORD will provide.” Abraham said.
It’s a scary experience having nothing to trust in but God’s goodness, but His goodness is sufficient. During the year of Ernie’s unemployment, we never once missed a house payment or failed to pay a bill. Our children were provided for, and our trust in the LORD grew. Praise God for his faithfulness!
