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Joseph and His Rib

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Faith & Practice, Life issues, Relationships, Vocation, tagged Adam, Bible, change, Christmas, courage, disappointment, Eve, faithfulness, fear, Garden of Eden, God, hope, humility, Jesus Christ, leadership, Virgin Mary on December 20, 2013| 1 Comment »

Joseph, a young man from the house of David, was probably like every other soon-to-be husband: nervous, but excited all the same. That is, until his fiancée came to him with shocking news. Mary was pregnant, but Joseph was not the father. The world, as Joseph knew it, had collapsed around him. He felt betrayed, hurt, angry. Break the engagement, whispered his pride, and walk away from this woman.

Everything had changed. Plans were ruined. Reputation was at stake. Unchartered territory lay ahead. At this precarious moment in his life, Joseph had nothing to hang on to… nothing, that is, except the Word of the Lord.

The Word gave Joseph courage. “Don’t be afraid!” It was the word that showed Joseph how to be faithful. “Take Mary as your wife. She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus” (Matthew 1:20-21).

Perhaps, in holding on to the Word, Joseph remembered the experience of his ancestor, Adam. Perhaps, in a moment of truth and with eyes focused, Joseph could picture Adam standing next to his wife, Eve. Perhaps, with wisdom only from the Holy Spirit, Joseph recognized the significance of Eve’s creation by God from man’s rib.

God made (literally: “built”) woman using part of man. With this, He established their relationship within the order of creation. A rib is structural; it supports. A rib guards and protects the heart and breath of life, yet it is vulnerable. Under attack, it can easily be fractured or even broken. Satan despises the order of creation that God uses to protect the man and woman He so loves. So, that day in the Garden, Satan set his target and went straight to Adam’s rib. The man was responsible for using God’s Word to cover his wife, yet he did nothing. Joseph knew the consequences that followed.

Perhaps, with discernment only from God, Joseph understood that he must not repeat the sin of his ancestor and do to his rib what Adam had done to his.

Perhaps, in remembering what Adam had failed to do, Joseph was given the courage to cover his wife, Mary, and lead her to safety. Let the village talk! Adjust carefully-made plans! Trust the Word of the Lord! Although it meant leaving his zone of comfort, Joseph did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him to do. He covered his rib by taking Mary as his wife. And, when Mary’s child was born, Joseph named Him Jesus.

God wanted Joseph to make a difference – a difference that would impact the world. But, such a difference could be made only by being faithful. Such faithfulness required that Joseph leave all that was familiar and put his life and the life of Mary into the hands of God.

Today, when a young man pressures his girlfriend to have sex, he is leaving her physically, emotionally, and spiritually vulnerable. He has placed his “needs” before hers and, in so doing, left her open to attack. When a man does not promise to love, cherish, and cover a woman with his name, but simply share living quarters and a bed, he is leaving her open to attack. When a man fathers a child but does not accept the privilege and responsibility of being a daddy, he is leaving both mother and child uncovered and vulnerable to the world.

But, when a man remembers God and His call to leadership, he is able to make a difference. A young man who guards his girlfriend’s virtue makes a difference. A husband who remains true to his wife makes a difference. A dad who understands the privilege, responsibility, and generational influence of fatherhood makes a difference. Men of faithfulness have a grand opportunity to defend against chaos and leave a legacy of hope.

Convenience told Joseph to walk away from Mary. Self-defense told Joseph to think of “number one.” Pride told Joseph that he could do better. Fear told Joseph to hide. But, God told Joseph not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife.

Joseph did what the angel of the Lord commanded. He covered Mary, his rib, and the unborn Child whose heart beat under her own. And, after the Baby was born in the most humble of circumstances, Joseph named the Child Jesus. Through all the frightening days ahead, Joseph remembered the Word of the Lord. And the Lord did not forget Joseph. In the midst of danger, the angel of the Lord warned Joseph. When uncertainty abounded, the angel of the Lord directed Joseph.

It’s true that life wasn’t ever the same for Joseph. It certainly wasn’t what he had planned. But, Joseph remembered the Word of the Lord. And, in doing so, he received courage to do what was asked of him. Joseph was faithful to cover Mary, his rib. He raised her Son Jesus in a godly home and took Him to worship. Some 2000 years later, the Boy who grew to be a Man in the house of a carpenter is still changing lives.

Joseph made a difference.

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Millennials for Marriage

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Relationships, tagged Biblical marriage, children, courage, family, foundation of society, God, institution of marriage, Jesus Christ, nation, procreation, unity on April 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Refreshing. Hopeful. Faithful to the God who created us… and marriage.

That is is the Marriage Generation. I just signed on as one of them and applaud their courage. Below, you will find their statement and five core principles.

Perhaps you’ll want to become one of the “marriage generation,” too!

We are millennials who understand that marriage is a lasting promise between one woman and one man. It is the unique human relationship where bodily, emotional and spiritual differences converge to form something new, often leading to the creation of life itself.

Sadly, the marriage culture our generation inherited was eroding long before we were born. Marriage in America has become increasingly associated with the fulfillment of sexual desire, and the self-actualization of adults, rather than the fulfillment of a lifelong commitment and the well being of children.

It should come as no surprise then that our generation is so ambivalent about marriage. There has never been a generation of Americans so starved for marriages to emulate or so confused about what marriage actually is. Competing claims that marriage is both an obstacle and a key to our happiness has led an increasing number of young Americans to declare marriage obsolete, delay or forgo marriage, or embrace calls to redefine marriage altogether.

Marriage remains indispensable to society, and we need marriage, rightly understood, to make a comeback.

We’re millennials who remain committed to the meaning and enduring value of marriage. Neither court rulings, nor elections, nor cultural pressures will dissuade us. Our passion is to revive a marriage culture, and to shape the way our generation thinks and talks about marriage.

Our Five Principles

1. Virtually every civilization throughout human history has recognized and upheld marriage as the permanent, exclusive and comprehensive union of one man and one woman.

2. Marriage uniquely provides for both the creation and nurturing of children.

3. The State has a compelling interest in upholding the meaning and purpose of marriage because marriage is the beginning of family, and family is the foundation of society.

4. Affirming the meaning and purpose of marriage through the law is an important and necessary step, but an insufficient one. As a society, we must redouble efforts to promote a culture of marriage and family, for the common good of all current and future citizens.

5. Recognizing the dignity of every human being and ensuring they receive the full protection of the law can and must be accomplished without redefining the meaning and purpose of marriage.

We aren’t indifferent. We aren’t giving up.

We are the Marriage Generation.

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Science & Faith: Part I

Posted in Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Identity, Life issues, tagged archeology, authority, Bible, chaos, creation, evolution, faith, God, God's Word, history, intelligent design, order, Richard Dawkins, science, truth, values on June 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »

“Science . . . contemplates a world of facts without values,” wrote William Inge, but “religion contemplates values apart from facts.”

What is “religion?” Doesn’t everyone have a “religion,” a worldview upon which they stand? True to their “religion” or worldview, don’t they practice it “religiously?” My worldview determines how I see and respond to everything. Faith in my worldview compels me to study and weigh facts. It also compels me to set higher standards (values). Together, these facts and values determine how I think, live, and treat myself and others.

My worldview tells me that science/facts and “religion” (faith)/values are not exclusive of one another. The atheist and I both put our faith in something; then we, true to our faith, practice it. The atheist doesn’t want to believe in an authority higher than himself. I, however, have discovered that when I place myself on the throne of “authority,” I put myself and others at risk.

Facts are necessary. Facts include more than science but also history and consequences of behavior. My faith in God’s Word of Scripture, for example, is not without fact. The Bible is fact. It is recorded history. It is eye-witness accounts. Father telling son or Jew telling Gentile. The Bible is backed up by facts. Archeological evidence and scientific documentation abound. My worldview impresses upon me the need for such facts over and above feelings and opinion. I cannot trust my feelings. They change with mood and circumstance. My opinion is biased. The law of gravity, on the other hand, is fact. So are history and experience. So, while I may feel like jumping off the roof of my house, it serves me well to remember that when my dad jumped off the roof of a barn, he broke his arches. The law of gravity, together with history and experience, are beneficial to me. Faith enters in for both the atheist and myself as a Christian, most especially when something happens that we didn’t see or can’t explain. Both the atheist and I will act as people of faith: faith in something. I didn’t see my dad jump off the barn. I didn’t hear his cry. Even though I can’t explain exactly what happened, I have faith in what my dad told me. Faith in his words prevents me from a foolish (and painful) jump.

Let’s assume, as Richard Dawkins insists, that there is no creator. No creator of all that ever has or ever will exist; no creator of persons (bodies, minds, and souls); no creator of boundaries for the function, care and protection of those persons; no creator of conscience; no creator of all things right, honorable, merciful, and true. In such a world, I become the “authority” of my life and Dawkins becomes the “authority” of his. But, what values do we harmoniously work with for the benefit of community? My values will be shaped by my “god” (me) and his will be shaped by his “god” (him).

Let’s be honest… and willing to expose our core faith.

Someone like Dawkins doesn’t want to acknowledge the Creator God who brings order out of chaos. He resists the valid conclusion of both faith and science that Someone higher than himself exists. Yet, in reality, he’s putting his faith in something. Himself! His core faith is himself! He may claim to wrap himself in science and demean those of faith. Nevertheless, he is practicing his faith. And his values, like all values, flow out of his faith: whatever he believes in.

Science and facts divorced from faith and values? No. All are interrelated. The more I study God’s Word and the more I am informed by facts — of biology, anatomy, archeology, and history, the more I recognize God at work. Intelligent and orderly design. “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20).

At the end of his life, Charles Darwin reflected on his work and confessed, “I was a young man with unformed ideas. I threw out queries, suggestions, wondering all the time over everything; and to my astonishment the ideas took like wildfire. People made a religion of them.”

Louis Pasteur declared in one of his lectures, “Science brings man nearer to God.”

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Not the Same God

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Commentaries of others, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Identity, Life issues, tagged abortion, Christianity, common ground, dialogue, God, Jesus Christ, mission field, opposing views, pro-life, religion, worldviews on April 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »

A woman named Melissa responded to “Planned Parenthood on 9/11,” my post of April 13. Three times she commented. Four times I attempted responses of my own. Back and forth we went… until it became clear that Melissa and I don’t share a belief in the same God.

“Melissa’s” are in our neighborhoods, families, and even congregations. Perhaps, if you have a spare moment or two, you might skim her commentaries. Does she think like anyone you know? What happens when worldviews seemingly share no common ground? What does God ask us to do?

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