Old Story, New Thoughts

So, with the new year I am yet again attempting to make it through the Bible in a year. You would think this wouldn't be so hard, but every time I get bogged down in begets and minor prophets. This time I am setting monthly goals instead of one gigantic unattainable yearly goal. Halfway through January and I'm doing pretty good. In fact, I am loving it. Genesis is so intriguing. I don't know when God-fearing people starting getting pegged as pious, judgmental, conservative, boring folks, but it wasn't during the time before Christ. (And just for the record, Christians are NOT pious, judgmental, conservative, boring folks as a rule, that's a bad rap. O.k., maybe conservative isn't such a bad thing...) Anyway, I digress.

From the time Adam and Eve made their fateful choice, we've been going downhill as a race. Sin is an infectious disease, and we are fooling ourselves to think otherwise. God saved Noah and his family when He wiped out the earth and started fresh, but the remaining folks were still sinful. They showed their true colors in short order. The Tower of Babel, lying, homosexuality, deception, wars, jealousy, mistresses fighting with wives, rape, pillaging, etc. Ouch, we are a bona fide mess.

In Sunday School we focus on the pillars of the faith and their great character because we want our children to have faith like Abraham, the wisdom and courage of Joseph, and the blessings of Jacob. But in doing this, we lose the point of it all.

It is not these people we are to model our lives after, it is the God of these people who should be our focus.

Abraham made major mistakes, the line of Christ came through Joseph's very faulty and sometimes sneaky brother Judah, and Jacob betrayed his brother and couldn't keep his family life peaceful for all the strife between his wives and mistresses.

When I see these people as pillars of the faith, something to strive for, I feel inadequate and daunted by the task. I don't know that I could spend years building a boat in a land for a flood that seems impossible surrounded by people who taunt me mercilessly. I don't know that I could be willing to sacrifice my child or continue having faith in a God who asked me to. I'm not sure I'd be as faithful and forgiving as Joseph when he was so clearly wronged by his family.

But that is not the whole story.

These people were very much human. They had weaknesses, hesitations, fears, anger, and well, sin. In pondering these people as they really were I felt a kinship with them for the first time in a long time. And I realized with brilliant clarity how awesome and powerful and loving our God truly is. He called these people because He loved them and wanted to use them for something greater than themselves, His Kingdom, not because they were capable, wonderful, perfect people. Through their weakness, God's strength is evident. That gives me hope. I don't have to be a pillar of faith; I just have to be His.

Since that moment that Adam and Eve began this long spiral downhill, God has been faithfully and powerfully creating the most wonderful story of redemption and love. And the story isn't over; He is still involved in our lives today. For that and so much more, I am eternally thankful.