abraham, isaac and jacob
“I want my kid to learn Bible songs and the whole bit like I did, but not if he has to go to church to do it.” These words were just spoken to me recently by a friend. He is disillusioned with the church. As much as he wants to go back for his child, he and his wife can not imagine going through that. With as much research as has been done about the younger generation leaving the church in droves, he would seem a mere statistic. He is however, a person, a man, a brother in Christ who is the image of God. So why is he so turned off by the church?
The list he gave me was long and detailed. He watched several people that he loved dearly get hurt by people in the church. Beyond that, his idea of church is a few people meeting together and identifying needs in their neighborhoods, and serving those needs. The whole corporate-mega-complex church thing doesn’t do it for him. I honestly can understand where he is coming from, and I truly appreciate his sentiment. I have found myself there often … as Ghandi said, “I would be a Christian were it not for Christians.”
Yesterday I was mulling this over in my mind, as news of yet another friend being wounded by his brothers and sisters in his faith community reached my ears. I was reflecting on this with my own words from the morning’s teaching ringing in my ears “… the God of your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” I was driving, my eyes filling with tears. I was deeply hurting for my friend who had been treated with such indifference and dishonesty (of course with all of it being cloaked under the guise of “prayer” and “God’s will” which makes it all okay), and I was frustrated with God for him allowing this kind of stuff to go on. Then the words again, “… the God of your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Something stuck me, “… the God of your fathers, Abraham the Liar, Isaac the Liar, and Jacob the Liar.”
The book of Genesis tells us that all three generations told lies that put others at risk. The lies were told for there own gain, and completely for self-interest. Jacob’s name is a Hebrew idiom for deceiver … These are the “fathers” who God referred to when speaking to Moses. Then the drama continues to unfold with stories of Samson, the women loving, disobedient Judge. King Saul, a conniving unrepentant guy, who was paranoid, and power hungry king. King David, who lied to a priest, and by virtue of his lie, the priest was killed. He later stole a wife, murdered her husband, and lied about that. On it goes … do we have time to talk about the disciples?
Why am I saying all of this? Well I guess because nothing is new under the sun. The men and women today who are doing displeasing things are no different that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all of their descendants. This by no means excuses the way we act … but the reality is that God’s ways supersede anything that you or I can do. His plan is not contingent on our perfection. (Again, I say this does not give us license to act in despicable ways, as some have chosen, and chalk it up to “Abraham, Isaac and Jacob).
I found a little comfort in this while driving. I realized that my life is far from perfect (I am confident this is not a shock to any of you), yet I see that God has chosen to use me … I am truly a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Like them, I am always missing the mark … along with my brothers and sisters around me. Let us not forget however, that Abraham trusted God, and because of that it was called righteousness.
So what do we make of these people who treat others horribly, and seem to go on about their life with little or no consequence? It is not ours to say … but let us not forget the upheaval that came about in the house of Abraham because of the sin of different men and women in history. I write that, and I am sobered concerning my own sin. My ultimate response is to recognize that His ways, are not our ways. I am both frustrated that he allows openly sinful people to be used, and humbled that he chooses to use this sinful person … it will forever be a tension.