In exile

Analogies can be slippery, vibrant yet vague. How to illustrate without misleading, how to reveal and not obstruct….

It wasn’t exactly a cave. Or an ostrich, Or a commune in the mountains.

But I was once a separatist, rejecting all that had the smoky taste of the world. I boycotted movies starring homosexuals. A preacher with a divorce in his history was not worthy of my ear. Music was always suspect, lyrics and motives overlaid on transgressions and rhythms.

I often wondered why God, once I had opened the door to my heart, didn’t whisk me off to heaven so I could escape this soiled place.

Did Daniel, snatched from his homeland and pressed into the king’s inner court, feel the same? He was an alien in a strange world, surrounded by false gods and unhealthy practices. He refused the king’s food because it would defile him. (Dan. 1:8)

But irony of ironies: Daniel’s refusal to be tainted led him deeper into the king’s presence. Noticing Daniel’s wisdom and understanding, the king began consulting him often. He gained greater standing than the magicians and enchanters.

What’s up with that? Daniel didn’t get to go home. He remained in the strange land, surrounded by the scent of opulence and the tinge of idolatry. Superstition and conjuring ruled the king’s mind.

Before Daniel came on the scene, that is.

Daniel didn’t escape Babylon. He spent a lifetime correcting magicians, outdueling enchanters, revealing God’s mysteries, testifying to the power of the one true God.

Daniel was God’s agent to deliver life to Nebuchadnezzar, the powerful king who moved from ignorance to acknowledgement to serving God only. In the battle of two kings, Nebuchadnezzar learned his place as servant of the true King.

By his words, advice, wisdom, choices, prayers, and courage, Daniel served the king of Babylon well. And he served the King of kings even better.

Daniel was no separatist.

Daniel remained at the king's court.

Dan 2:49

This is for the fathers

I know a man who wrenched his own heritage away from his children and planted a new legacy in its place. He started life like many of us, with a rebellious self-indulgent spirit. He left home at 16 and sired a child out of wedlock at 19. Theft, speeding, reckless driving pepper his background.

But, like so many, the day came when he had a wife and young children. He was just doing his fatherly duty in joining them at church when the Fisher of men hooked him. He was changed.

After that, he never hesitated to write a check for his children to go on mission trips or youth conferences or Bible studies. Summer church camps were a given. His kids were always there. He drove many van loads of kids to rallies and meetings.

I know another man who also did his duty. His kids were in church every Sunday and heard Bible texts every day. He taught them to fish and to pray, to shovel walks and carry groceries for the widows.

Lives are changed as fathers set aside their own schedule and appetite for their family. Not every father warms to the responsibilities of being a dad. Fathers disappoint, as do children.

But our measure is to be found in God, who always does his duty as our father. We don’t always deserve it, but he can change our lives with his devotion.

Happy Father’s Day! There are many men who have made a difference in their children’s heritage. They deserve our honor and respect. And praises to our Heavenly Father, who illustrates daily the love and wisdom of a faithful Dad.

O LORD, you are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand.

Isaiah 64:8