Restoring what the locusts had eaten

Most women love the lure of flowers, an evening stroll, the attention of a suitor.

I was wooed in those summer months. I deserved no courtship. I had chosen a silent separation; in my reckoning, my Bridegroom had not done his part.

The miscarriage happened in March. On a summer camping trip, with a time for quiet and reflection, my heart began to expand. I missed my Lord. I felt his warm breath as he called my name. I opened my Bible and began a slow climb out of a black hole.

I did not understand my loss but I was reminded that I was loved by the Creator of the universe. My soul soared like the eagle.

Invited to speak at our church’s Christmas tea in early December, my joy expanded when I discovered I was pregnant again. I felt certain that God was restoring what had been lost.

But I gave the long-anticipated speech knowing that life was draining away. I was desperate not to lose the relationship. My cry that weekend was that my Lord not leave me.

I had once hoped that my friends or family would comfort me during the one-two punch of miscarriage. But the Bridegroom never left my side. He whispered my name and drew me back. He kept his part of the covenant: He never left me.

He repaid me for the years the locusts had eaten a year later when our son was born. As the prophet Joel said, I praise the Lord’s name for he worked wonders for me.

Stopping the insanity

Yesterday's post introduced a book, Stop the Traffik, dealing with human slave labor and trafficking today. Throughout his Word, God is clear that we are to defend the weak, the widow, the orphan, the foreigner.

That clearly applies to this situation and so as followers of Jesus we can't find a way to excuse this sort of atrocity.

Some comments on the book:

• The authors are passionate about their cause and present, through a series of anecdotes and statistics, a strong case for joining the cause against such trafficking.
• Printed on glossy pages with creative graphics and compelling photos (not graphic at all), the book is a quality publishing project.
• Although this book isn't written from a Christian point of view, neither does it denigrate churches but sees them as allies.
• Sadly, because it is not from a Christian point of view, its points of actions do not include any sort of prayer or trust in God. The assumption is that we alone must make a difference.
• And, the assumption is that the solution lies in the direction of new laws and state-sponsored initiatives. If we can raise awareness, the suggestion goes, then the state will rise up to wipe out the traffickers.

I would recommend this book as an bold and insightful look at the problem of humans sinning against weaker humans. The problem cannot be ignored and it is hideous.

But I would suggest some of the answers can be found in putting God's Word into action. We can pray and we can act as agents of God's generosity. This issue is a huge one but not overwhelming to those who live in the shadow of God's grace.

Update on Weston

I've been praying for Weston Brewer and following his progress for over a year now. He was a 12-year-old boy from Myrtle Beach, SC who was accidentally shot in the head by his father. Although the family was told he wouldn't survive, he not only survived but is now going through therapy to learn to walk. Here's a video update:

About Weston

Just a couple of days after Christmas, in that afterglow of vacation and gifts, Weston Brewer was accidentally shot in the head. This 12-year-old boy who loved fishing, baseball and hanging out with his buddies was suddenly plunged into a coma with doctors predicting his death within 24 hours.

But the doctors weren’t praying like his family and friends were.

When the ventilator tube came out, Weston kept breathing. He survived 24 hours and 48 hours and then a week. Three weeks after Christmas, Weston emerged from the coma. Before long, he was chewing on popsicles and discussing the Super Bowl with his father. (He wants the Giants to win but figures the Patriots will take it.)

His family and friends are praying for full recovery now.

If you’re interested in being a meaningful support person for Weston, follow these directions:

1. Go to www.carepages.com
2. Click "Visit a CarePage"
3. Register (first-time users only)
4. After you've registered, enter exactly: WestonBrewer

You can even check out a YouTube video of Weston.

You know those people who reject God for letting orphans suffer in Africa? If they want to blame God for tormenting those children, do you suppose they thank God for preserving Weston’s life? Maybe not. But we sure can!

Winter fire

"Any one thinking of the Holy Child as born in December would mean by it exactly what we mean by it; that Christ is not merely a summer sun of the prosperous but a winter fire for the unfortunate."
- G.K. Chesteron, The New Jerusalem

Poured out

When Mildred dressed for work yesterday morning, she probably didn’t dream she was doing her daily routine for the very last time.

When Carl drank his morning coffee, he probably didn’t contemplate that his life would change forever.

Our little farm community has been rocked by a horrible tragedy, a harvest accident that took the life of a woman and left a crew of harvesters shaken in horror. There was no fault in this accident, no finger-pointing to be done.

All involved are long-time residents of the area, with family and friends threaded throughout the community. No one is untouched by this tragedy. We feel the ache of loss, the agony of passing.

Mildred’s family has already lost their father and a brother. Now their mother has been snatched from them in an instant.

For Carl, who was driving the machine, we have compassion. His is the suffering of regret, although he could not have prevented the accident.

….like water spilled out on the ground…..*

Life cannot be recovered. The innocence of yesterday is gone.

We’re tempted to ask WHY?

But the answers are not in understanding. Our relief doesn’t come in uncovering a good reason for all this. We don't gain by trying to judge the purpose of a tragedy.

Comfort comes in one place. We must ask the who question. Who is our comfort? We forget that we are tender grass, burned by the heat of the day. Life withers us.

Jesus remembers. He wept before Lazarus’ grave. He healed with compassion. He always lives to make intercession for us.

“You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love “

Jonah 4:2

*2 Sam 14:14

Grace in the flood

When you read the account of Noah’s flood, does it fill you with terror?

It didn’t me, either, until this time around. I generally saw it with Sunday school eyes: cute animals going in two by two, the rain came down and the flood came up, Noah trying to keep everybody happy.

But if you take a look at Genesis 6, terror lurks at every turn. The world of Noah was a world dripping with evil, marinated with self-indulgence, soaked in violence. God grieved at the chaos.

During creation, the earth was formless and void, water and land intermingled in chaos. Now, with the flood, the same picture emerges. Where God had brought order and life during creation, he now allows the churning waters to destroy life. There is a return of sorts to the first day of creation, where darkness and chaos ruled.

God’s presence brings order. When he withdrew his protection, chaos destroyed.

But the good news in the horrific flood scene was the ark, bearing the precious seeds of life. In the deep water, which for the ancient Hebrew represented the terrors of the unknown, the ark protected Noah, his family, and the animals. God protected a remnant. His commitment remained.

God had put Adam in the garden – that place of incredible fruitfulness, abundance, and presence – to work it and take care of it. The sons of Adam had rejected their part. God kept his part of the promise but people failed in their part.

Only Noah found favor in God’s sight and only Noah and his family were preserved.

A new covenant was formed: God would never again destroy life in such a terror-filled way. People from that time forward could understand God’s power and his purity for it had been clearly displayed.

There’s a simple lesson here: God hates wickedness and he keeps his promises. His work is always to preserve those who seek to escape its grip. Is there terror – or hope – in that truth?

The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

Gen 8:21

Friday Five: God's mercy

Five Old Testament instances of God’s mercy:

"The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.

Ex 34:6-7

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

1 Chron 16:34

The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.

Psalms 145:8-9

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jer 29:11

I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.

Jonah 4:2

The first-born

I’ve been puzzling over the story of Cain and Abel for a few days with this question in mind: Why did God allow Cain to live?

There are plenty of historical instances where God responded to rebellion with death. Why not this time?

Cain was the first-born, the first-ever born and Eve rejoiced that God had given her this son. Did she hope he was the anticipated savior, the seed who would crush evil?

We might credit Cain with offering the first sacrifice, but we see that he did not please God. The rhythm of the written account pulses: we go from Cain to Abel, from Abel to Cain. One farmed the ground; one tended the sheep. Abel’s sacrifice pleased God; Cain’s did not. The heartbeat of the story screeches to a halt when God confronts Cain: don’t let sin overtake you.

We see why Cain’s sacrifice was inadequate: his heart is selfish. In jealousy, he kills Abel. He sneers at God: am I my brother’s keeper?

Where Adam and Eve regretted their sin, Cain does not. He doesn't hesitate to kill as a solution. God banishes him. The farmer is sent away from the land. It is only in that judgment that Cain finally cries out to God for help.

God reveals how he values life. The promise of fruitfulness, given to Adam and Eve, trumped a need for vengeance. God may have also stemmed a bloodbath as other family members rushed to avenge Abel’s murder. He quarantines Cain – even from his own presence. Cain becomes a wanderer, sent far from Eden and away from God.

It’s a picture of hell, that separation. Yet God in his mercy gave Cain time to be restored.

I know many who have let sin overtake them. I know how God treasures life. And I have seen the two intertwine in joyous reconciliation.

The first-born of man failed; sin crushed him. But the first-born of God won; he crushed sin. God’s mercy extended to Cain – and well beyond.

But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.

2 Sam 14:14

“Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?” declares the Sovereign LORD. “Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?”

Ezek 18:23