Radiant Church: Fairbanks, AK http://www.radiantchurchalaska.com/news---events/elders-blog Teaching and encouragement for the family Jacob and Esau http://www.radiantchurchalaska.com/news---events/elders-blog/post/jacob-and-esau Mon, 01 Nov 2010 11:00:00 -0400 http://www.radiantchurchalaska.com/news---events/elders-blog/post/jacob-and-esau This week, the story for Radiant Kids is Jacob and Esau, and I was particularly struck by what a hard teaching it is.  Yet it needs to be taught, because our job is to proclaim all of God’s truths, even the ones that make us uncomfortable or offend our flesh.   It reminded me that the Bible is much more than a collection of morality lessons.

Often, the the way we approach the Bible is to read it to look for rules for right living.  Something along the lines of: the Bible says this, which teaches us about how Christians are to behave.  The implication is that the Bible is our instruction book given to us so we can learn all we need to learn about good Christian conduct. This is definitely a shallow view of the Bible. 

The fact is, the Bible is God’s revelation of God.  It is not simply our book of rules for us.  It is God’s book about Himself.  The fact that humans are even mentioned should not be taken for granted but should be regarded with awe, that we have been made part of God's story.  And in fact, when humans are mentioned, we see that their actions don’t really lend themselves to a good morality lesson. 

This is certainly true for the story of Jacob and Esau.   There is no template in the story that says “see children, how you should act….”    How heroic were Jacob’s actions?  Are we to emulate him?  He heartlessly took advantage of his brother’s weakness to steal his birthright.  Then he deliberately and selfishly, deceived his own father to steal his brother’s blessing.  And Esau was no better.  He foolishly gave up his birthright for a single meal.  And after being deceived by his brother, he decided the best thing would be to kill him as soon as Isaac was dead.

The reality, God is the only one in this story that is the hero.  He chose Jacob not because of Jacob’s righteousness, but because of God’s grace.  Even though Jacob was constantly trying to take matters into his own hands, and was deceitful, dishonest and selfish, God says “Yet I have loved Jacob”  (Malachi 1:2).  This is a great promise; it reminds us that God’s grace is far greater than our screw-ups!
 
The hard part is verse 3, where God goes on to say “but Esau I have hated.”  Why did God hate Esau?  The answer is that Esau deserved it.  The reality is that we all deserve God’s hate.  The Bible says “all have sinned.”  That means we all deserve what Esau got.  All are like Esau.  And the only reason any one gets anything other than what he or she deserves is God’s grace.  That is a deep mystery and one that compels us, in humility, to praise God for His Amazing Grace for restoring a separation caused by our sin!

Charles Spurgeon says it this way:

"If any of you want to know what I preach every day, and any stranger should say, "Give me a summary of his doctrine," say this, "He preaches salvation all of grace, and damnation all of sin. He gives God all the glory for every soul that is saved, but he won't have it that God is to blame for any man that is damned." That teaching I cannot understand. My soul revolts at the idea of a doctrine that lays the blood of man's soul at God's door. I cannot conceive how any human mind, at least any Christian mind, can hold any such blasphemy as that. I delight to preach this blessed truth—salvation of God, from first to last—the Alpha and the Omega; but when I come to preach damnation, I say, damnation of man, not of God; and if you perish, at your own hands must your blood be required."

Thank God for the blood of Jesus!

-- Mike D.

]]> Family Dinners http://www.radiantchurchalaska.com/news---events/elders-blog/post/family-dinners Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:00:00 -0400 http://www.radiantchurchalaska.com/news---events/elders-blog/post/family-dinners set_tableDeut 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. [1] 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.  (ESV)

It is always interesting to see that research supports Biblical truth.  It is clear from God’s command in Deuteronomy 6, that parents are expected to teach their children what it means and what it looks like to love the Lord your God with all your soul and all your might.

The phrase ‘teach diligently’ is used in the ESV and KJV to translate the Hebrew word ‘shanan’ which means to sharpen or pierce.  The NIV translates the word as ‘impress.’  From this we get a word picture that parents are Parents are to impress upon their children God’s truths.

Parents are specifically instructed to teach their children when they sit at home.  And the family meal table is perhaps the best place to do that.  The latest report from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, entitled “The Importance of Family Dinners” supports this principle in surprising clarity.

Compared to teens who have frequent family dinners (five to seven per week), those who have infrequent family dinners (fewer than three per week), are less likely to live emotionally healthy lives.  For example, those who have infrequent family dinners are nearly twice as likely to report receiving mostly C’s or lower grades in school, and are twice as likely to have used tobacco, nearly twice as likely to have used alcohol, and one and a half times likelier to have used marijuana.

God gave us regular rhythms as a way to a healthy and fulfilled relationship with Him.  So it is no surprise that following his outline for a pattern of living helps create healthy families.  The full report can be found at:

http://www.casacolumbia.org/download.aspx?path=/UploadedFiles/1intfzad.pdf

– Mike D.

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