I think the biggest revelation from the five books we have covered so far is that we don’t have to be perfect. Not just we as individuals, but we as a community aren’t always going to get it right. It’s fun to criticize the Israelites and how whiney they are in the wilderness; it’s pithy to recognize that we aren’t much different from them. What is beautiful to me is that though an entire generation did not enter the promised land, though the following generation was cursed to wander around with them and bear the burden of their sin, God still brought the Messiah through these people to bless all nations of the earth.
The other thing that stands out so clearly is how many people are affected by one person’s sin. Abram lies about Sarah and brings disease on Pharoh’s house. Sarah gets impatient waiting for the son God promised to her and has Abram impregnate her servant Hagar, from whom Ishmael is born. Ishmael becomes a nation because of God’s love, but Hagar and Ishmael bear the burden of Sarah’s impatience. The list goes on…and on and on and on…it doesn’t seem fair to me.
But then Jesus, the sinless God-man, dies on a cross. He becomes sin for us. He died for the sins I have committed, and the sins committed against me. He died so that we could love one another truly. And somehow His love and His sacrifice works…not only for us to one day enter eternety with Him, but to change how we live today, to release us from this mess we’ve all made from the things we do to one another.
Tonight the students are reading Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. I’ve been in and out this weekend due to other commitments and errands, but I’m okay with that. I have been blessed recently to be able to study the Bible in large chunks like we did this weekend. I am looking forward to (and a little nervous about) delving in tomorrow for a full day. So it is still, really, the beginning.
Raindrops in the Ocean 