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Wednesday
Oct262011

Who's your Daddy?

FAMILY... that word can mean almost anything these days.

Used to, when someone spoke of family, it was understood they were talking about a husband, wife and some combination of offspring - the nuclear family. Extended family would include Grandma, Grandpa, aunts/uncles, cousins and the like. One thing family always held in common was blood... shared DNA.

Enter the 21st century. Family is now loosely defined as, "any group of people who love each other". I have no intention of using this entry to make a political or social statement. However, I don't think I'm alone in asserting that both of these leave a little to be desired.

We've all had friends who are closer to us than "blood" relatives. Can we not also call them family? On the other hand, "love" (as I've experienced it) can be a fickle thing. I'm not sure I want to call someone "family" if there is no assurance of a life-long connection.

So, what constitutes family? Are we exclusively limited in our most intimate relationships to some cosmic lotto's determination of whom we'll spend eighty-odd years? What's that saying? ..."You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family."

Consider this: When Christ came to Earth, His purpose was to make a way for us to enter both the fellowship of the Trinity and a different type of extended earthly family. "How?", you may ask... blood. More than a few scriptures identify Jesus as the "Bridegroom" and the Church as His wife; thereby securing a "marital" connection to the Godhead. Another passage calls Christ the "firstborn among many" - eluding to the availability adoption for those who would come after. All of this is made possible by the physical sacrifice of Christ on our behalf.

Finally, hope for the orphan & emotionally orphan-ed. A people with whom we are both intimately acquainted and safe. Check out the passage below, and see Jesus' (fully human) take on all this.

But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”  And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers!  “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”     Matthew 12:48-50

Church is not a place I go to, but a people I belong to.

Tuesday
Sep272011

Addressing a Climate of Change

 

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.... The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food... Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.

Genesis 1:26-31; 2:8-9, 15

Global warming (to me) is just not good science. Anytime we begin with a supposition and work out of it backwards to prove our point, trouble is brewing. It's audacious for mankind to assert that we hold ultimate sway over Earth. Further, I believe it is a faithless response to the Creation story. In other words, anyone who believes an all-powerful Being created Earth and its contents should be at peace that He is capable of sustaining it until the completion of its purpose.

Now, having voiced what every good, conservative Christian affirms, I'd like to pose a question:

Do we have to believe in Global Warming in order to do what's right by the Earth?

Was God's mandate (to subdue & rule over creation) license or responsibility? If the former, then we are free to use it up with no restraint. But the latter just might require us working toward many of the same goals as our "liberal" friends, if for a different purpose.

What if, instead of bantering over carbon credits, strip mining, and green house gas emissions, Christians began to apply themselves to leadership in renewal, redemption, reclamation and restoration of a healthy eco-system? Have we been given the mind of Christ only to understand theological things; or, is it possible that the Lord may be raising up a new generation of Solomon and Daniel who gain influence to share their faith because of economic, political, architectural, or agricultural exploits?

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