Did you ever have a topic that grabbed you and wouldn’t let go? Well, here we are, about to tug again at the ribbons wrapping the beguiling package of adultery. Did you ever notice that the root word of adultery is adult? Isn’t it terribly ironic that this activity is as about as far removed from adulthood and adult activities as it can be?
It is doubly ironic in that often the actions are justified as being “between consenting adults.” In reality, most of the time they look more like the actions of consenting 13-year olds. Randy 13-year olds. It is also termed an “affair of the heart” in an attempt to, if not glorify the activities, to at least rationalize them. “Heart” implies a love relationship. And nowhere in the lexicon of love do we find an action that is so contrary to the best interests of both parties, and everyone else who is impacted.
When the ultimate day of reckoning, the inevitable day of reckoning occurs, both parties are invariably damaged. As are the families and friends of both, the associates of both, even curious bystanders. It should be called an affair of the crotch. When the final accounting is made, only the immediate urges of 13-year old hormones were what were involved.
And yes, we will consider the proverbial elephant in the room. In fact he seems to be in the whole county, perhaps the entire mid-state, and even the state. Marriages are damaged, if not destroyed. Families are decimated. Careers are discarded. And entire populations are disgusted with the careless and heedless actions of leaders.
The Apostle John described just such a situation in 1 John 2:16. “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life....” He offered a tripartite analysis. “The lust of the flesh.” This is the childish attitude of I want it and I want it now. A friend of ours who writes children’s musicals coined a word for this: “Gratifaction.” We can imply “immediate gratifaction.” It is a combination of gratification and satisfaction. And it is urgent. There is no consideration for any one, or any thing else.
In the vacuum cleaner business, we had a term for peoples’ evaluation of their cleaning equipment. “See, hear, feel.” They could see dirt before running over it, and see that it was gone afterwards. They could hear the motor running and feel their dust bag filling up. We had to show them that even though some was picked up, most of the dirt was left behind. Our eyes can be tricked. And the “lust of the eyes” is a perfect example of this. What looks “good” is not always and a lot of times never, good.
The “pride of life, the boastful pride of life” is the most insidious probe of all. If our pride and self appreciation are based upon how we “look” we are fishing in a very shallow pond. Self worth and value are not dependent upon the “eye candy” we sport, whether it is people, position, or power. Integrity of the inner person is what gives true worth and value to anyone and everyone. To ignore or disparage that is a true marker of immaturity and incompetence. Many people discover that way too late.
And look at John’s final analysis: “(All that is in the world) is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts;....” True significance does not come from leaning on a failing philosophy. True value in life is presented in the final phrase of the verse. “...but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” For true significance and meaning it is required that we look above the horizon. Fixation on this world will doom us to mediocrity and ultimately destruction. Paul also counsels us to “seek those things which are above.” (Colossians 3:1)
Love is based upon seeking and demanding the best for the other person. That not only includes the specific person, but those who revere and respect the other person. Selfish immaturity seeks “what I want, when I want it” regardless of the consequences, especially when someone else is involved. And the cost is never considered until the time of accounting.
Paul had an interesting comment on this. 1 Corinthians 13:11 sums up the whole chapter on love. “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man (or woman), I put away childish things.”
Living life as an adult, should include an abhorrence and avoidance of adultery. Otherwise we are merely grown children, acting out unbridled passions.
Friday, February 16, 2018
Thursday, February 15, 2018
Evolution and Conception
I am often struck with the realization that I believe evolution more than adherents of the theory. I operate with a better understanding than most of the experts I read. I have often read the following or similar statements: ”Evolution needed to make XX happen so it evolved a method to accomplish this.”
I have been thinking about birth lately (no personal connection, just thinking) and recall reading an explanation of conception years ago. I have not seen an update nor a disclaimer. This will be a little delicate so if there are kids in the room, you might want to occupy them elsewhere.
Speaking as an evolutionist here, the lower animals copulate from the rear. This is convenient and meshes with their life style with no problems. Once the sperm has been “deposited” (is that delicate enough) within the vagina, the female can go on about her business while the little “guys” swim up the appropriate tubes to meet and merge with the egg. Voila`! We have a new little whatever on the way.
While we are here, most of the animals are capable of multiple births because mutiple eggs are released each cycle. Most, of if not all, of the larger animals only release one egg at a time, limiting the “litter” to a single entry into the population. Some aberrations occur and occasional multiple ovulations occur, but that is not the normal situation.
Why would evolution limit the number of offspring, since its “goal” is to preserve the species? Now you can throw in natural selection and say that the mothers who only carry one fetus to term have a greater probability of survival for both themselves and the new entity. But that does not explain the DNA modification that now restricts the ovaries to one at a time.
I think that I believe evolution more than they do. They just say that “it happens” while I am pestering the method to explain how, in addition to why the changes occurred. And while we are at it, it is remarkable that all “up and down the line” once an egg has been penetrated by the sperm, it develops a shield to repel any additional “fertilizations.” But the sperm count in the male “contribution” continues to be many times more than necessary for the vital process to occur. Just a thought.
But back to our now pregnant “higher” animal. The horizontal birth canal is conducive to the movement of sperm from “one end to the other.” Then when man comes along, walking on two legs, a species-fatal adjustment occurred. Now the birth canal is vertical, and the probability of the “little guys” being able to swim all the way up to the egg are greatly diminished. In fact, the natural flow of fluids would tend to “wash” them all out before they can accomplish their vital function. Ergo, species death.
Now for the fun part. I aver that I am not making this up. (I wanted to say swear, but forebare.) So evolution realized that the twin hemispheres of the female hinder parts were a guide and beacon to the male to aid in copulation. In order to get him to approach from the front, and the female to lie on her back (horizontal for the directionally challenged), nature needed to “add” a pair of hemispheres to the front end of the female. So the mammary glands enlarged and became that beacon to attract the male to the front. Then, just to sweeten the pot, the ability to orgasm was added to the female, so that after copulation, she would continue to lie on her back, side , or front, enjoying the sensation. This allowed the “s-troop” time to migrate past the danger zone and into the business part of their trek.
(I am not making this up. I have not researched it lately, but this was what I read.) And while we are at it, the number of mammary glands has been decreasing. (We call them teats in animals. Pronounced, “tits.”) Evolution surely has funny ways.
So that explained how the “naked ape” was developed by a benevolent evolutionary force. Only if you believe evolution, you have to admit that all of this was random, non-directed mutation. It was just propitious that the modifications worked out as they did. Well, the problem is not satisfied by this simplistic explanation.
For instance, which came first, the ability to walk upright, and the multitude of changes to the skeleton and appendages, or the recognition of the need for a horizontal birth canal. See where I am going? Random, non-directed changes would not only have to be coincident in time, but also in sexes. Both would have to “develop” simultaneously, but most probably from different mothers. It is getting kind of messy.
The enhancement of the mammary glands would also have to randomly, spontaneously occur with the ability to experience orgasm. Female animals do not exhibit visible evidence of wild, rapturous response to coitus. Neither do males, as a matter of fact. Growing up on a farm gave me many opportunities to observe animal reproduction. The mechanics, which you probably know, are similar. An erection is required for penetration, and after ejaculation, it shrivils back to a manageable size for transport. Nuff said.
Like I said, I believe evolution more than my evolutionist friends. I believe that the random, unguided process would have to have done this. That is why I cannot believe that it could have happened. One last comment. The entire sexual reproduction process, from the lowest animals to man, is so intricate and exquisite that to believe that it is the product of random mutations stretches the credibility far beyond the breaking point. If someone really believes it, they wouldn’t believe it.
“‘scuse the pun,” but who could conceive of this?
I have been thinking about birth lately (no personal connection, just thinking) and recall reading an explanation of conception years ago. I have not seen an update nor a disclaimer. This will be a little delicate so if there are kids in the room, you might want to occupy them elsewhere.
Speaking as an evolutionist here, the lower animals copulate from the rear. This is convenient and meshes with their life style with no problems. Once the sperm has been “deposited” (is that delicate enough) within the vagina, the female can go on about her business while the little “guys” swim up the appropriate tubes to meet and merge with the egg. Voila`! We have a new little whatever on the way.
While we are here, most of the animals are capable of multiple births because mutiple eggs are released each cycle. Most, of if not all, of the larger animals only release one egg at a time, limiting the “litter” to a single entry into the population. Some aberrations occur and occasional multiple ovulations occur, but that is not the normal situation.
Why would evolution limit the number of offspring, since its “goal” is to preserve the species? Now you can throw in natural selection and say that the mothers who only carry one fetus to term have a greater probability of survival for both themselves and the new entity. But that does not explain the DNA modification that now restricts the ovaries to one at a time.
I think that I believe evolution more than they do. They just say that “it happens” while I am pestering the method to explain how, in addition to why the changes occurred. And while we are at it, it is remarkable that all “up and down the line” once an egg has been penetrated by the sperm, it develops a shield to repel any additional “fertilizations.” But the sperm count in the male “contribution” continues to be many times more than necessary for the vital process to occur. Just a thought.
But back to our now pregnant “higher” animal. The horizontal birth canal is conducive to the movement of sperm from “one end to the other.” Then when man comes along, walking on two legs, a species-fatal adjustment occurred. Now the birth canal is vertical, and the probability of the “little guys” being able to swim all the way up to the egg are greatly diminished. In fact, the natural flow of fluids would tend to “wash” them all out before they can accomplish their vital function. Ergo, species death.
Now for the fun part. I aver that I am not making this up. (I wanted to say swear, but forebare.) So evolution realized that the twin hemispheres of the female hinder parts were a guide and beacon to the male to aid in copulation. In order to get him to approach from the front, and the female to lie on her back (horizontal for the directionally challenged), nature needed to “add” a pair of hemispheres to the front end of the female. So the mammary glands enlarged and became that beacon to attract the male to the front. Then, just to sweeten the pot, the ability to orgasm was added to the female, so that after copulation, she would continue to lie on her back, side , or front, enjoying the sensation. This allowed the “s-troop” time to migrate past the danger zone and into the business part of their trek.
(I am not making this up. I have not researched it lately, but this was what I read.) And while we are at it, the number of mammary glands has been decreasing. (We call them teats in animals. Pronounced, “tits.”) Evolution surely has funny ways.
So that explained how the “naked ape” was developed by a benevolent evolutionary force. Only if you believe evolution, you have to admit that all of this was random, non-directed mutation. It was just propitious that the modifications worked out as they did. Well, the problem is not satisfied by this simplistic explanation.
For instance, which came first, the ability to walk upright, and the multitude of changes to the skeleton and appendages, or the recognition of the need for a horizontal birth canal. See where I am going? Random, non-directed changes would not only have to be coincident in time, but also in sexes. Both would have to “develop” simultaneously, but most probably from different mothers. It is getting kind of messy.
The enhancement of the mammary glands would also have to randomly, spontaneously occur with the ability to experience orgasm. Female animals do not exhibit visible evidence of wild, rapturous response to coitus. Neither do males, as a matter of fact. Growing up on a farm gave me many opportunities to observe animal reproduction. The mechanics, which you probably know, are similar. An erection is required for penetration, and after ejaculation, it shrivils back to a manageable size for transport. Nuff said.
Like I said, I believe evolution more than my evolutionist friends. I believe that the random, unguided process would have to have done this. That is why I cannot believe that it could have happened. One last comment. The entire sexual reproduction process, from the lowest animals to man, is so intricate and exquisite that to believe that it is the product of random mutations stretches the credibility far beyond the breaking point. If someone really believes it, they wouldn’t believe it.
“‘scuse the pun,” but who could conceive of this?
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
Adultery
When I attended a small, Christian college in the ‘60's we had chapel every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We complained until we talked to some of the “old timers” and alumni who told us that in the “old days” they had chapel five days a week. Years later, after I left, I listened to a radio program called “Morning Chapel Hour.” And did it revive memories. I had not realized how fortunate we were to get pretty good preaching all through the week. And often we had some great speakers.
One such pastor was most students’ favorite. He was the local pastor of the big Southern Baptist Church which was just down the street. Many of the SBC pastors went by their first names, like Pastor Jerry, or Brother Bobby. I was used to “Reverend McClun” and so on. This preacher went even farther and told us to call him by his name only. So when Billy was going to preach, we were anticipating a real treat. He was funny, and told very good stories to illustrate his points.
The crowd was very ready when he approached the podium one of the days he was scheduled to preach. We expected to be entertained, enlightened, and encouraged. He took the podium, looked out at us for a second or two, (Dramatic pause) and began.
“The seventh commandment says, ‘THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY!’” He ended his pronouncement with a hearty fist slam to the pulpit. “Now I know that most of you guys (700 guys and about 40 girls) think your are exempt from this because you are not married. But a lot of you have girl friends and you are touching and kissing places that you should not touch or kiss. If you don’t have a girl right now, maybe you are looking at pornographic literature. You are committing adultery. Fornication and adultery are both included in this commandment. And those of you who are not yet convicted, if you even look at some of the town girls or the Kilgore Rangerettes and fantasize about them you are too.”
Talk about a wake up call. Many of us had never before considered what Jesus said when He said that to look at a woman with lust was to commit adultery in one’s heart. Brother Billy ended that somewhat wilfull ignorance.
His sermon came to mind as I prepared the lesson for Genesis 2:18-25. There we have the ideal marriage. Boy does our society need to get back to the basics. From business men, to politicians, to entertainers, to ordinary “guys in the street,” we are floundering with how to respond to what almost seems incessant temptation. And many high profile personages all over the landscape have succumbed. And crashed and burned.
Let’s look back to the “drawing board” to see how the prototype was displayed and perhaps find our way out of the morass in which we flounder. First, God brought all of the animals to Adam to name. (We explored this is detail in the lesson: Genesis 2:18-25, Eve. It is posted on my page on FaceBook. Video and text.) Somewhere during the process, Adam became aware of something that God already knew. There were two of everything else, but only one of him. Only then, did God put Adam to sleep and take a rib to fashion a “helper, suitable for him.”
When Adam work up, he expostulated, “This is it!” (League’s Loose Translation) “This is my bone. This is my flesh.”
Then, either he or Moses, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, spelled out the framework of the ideal marriage. (Verse 24) “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”
There are three prongs to this statement. First “a man shall leave his father and mother....” This “leaving” is not an isolation or totally ignoring them. It is a spiritual and emotional separation. The family, and mother in particular, is to assume a lower place in the hierarchy of his esteem. His wife is now the highest priority of anyone or anything on earth. God is first, of course, then the wife. No exceptions.
A good way to summarize it is in the little phrase that occasionally occurs in some wedding ceremonies, “Forsaking all, I choose you.” This leads into the second prong, join. The man is joined to his wife. This is not the “one flesh” part, which comes next. This is a compact or a contract, if you please, between the man and woman that turns them from a couple into a single unit. They are no longer two individuals, but they have become one, a family of two to begin with. King James uses an archaic word that maybe we should revive: “Cleave.” Cleave means to cling together inseparably.
It is like welding two pieces of steel together. A properly done weld cannot be broken. If it is cut apart, some of each piece will remain as part of the other. The marriage agreement, likewise, joins a man and a woman into a single unit, that we call a family. And this points to the final prong of our discussion.
“...and they shall become one flesh.” This is the whoopee! part of marriage, but even more it represents the perfection of the joining process. They are no longer two, but one. Physically, they are joined in body, but more importantly, the unification of their souls and spirits is complete. Brother Billy may have been the one to suggest this picture. He said just as several threads are combined to weave a single tapestry, so the threads of our lives are woven together in the tapestry of our marriages.
The threefold paradigm can be encapsulated in leave, cleave, and weave. And adultery not only violates, it vitiates, destroys all three aspects of marriage. That is why it was forbidden in the seventh commandment. It is bad for everyone.
When we promise to leave or forsake everyone else, that means nobody or no thing can come between us. (Changing from third person to first person here. It is deliberate, Mrs. Cheney.) Entering into an adulterous liaison trashes that promise by replacing the wife with someone else. It hurts me because I have now become a liar, a covenant breaker, and probably several other things. It hurts my bride, because first, I have lied to her, then second I have devalued her. That is something I have no right to do. In fact, I am commanded to build her up. More obedience issues there, it seems.
The second leg that is shattered is the joining. Just like cutting a weld in two damages both pieces, so violating the integrity of my bond with my wife is injurious to both. This is true even if I do not immediately recognize it. Just ask any of the perpetrators who “got caught.” Even if they did not get caught and publically exposed and condemned, they are damaged goods. (Aside: Second marriages fail more often than the initial marriages. You can check out the statistics and save me the trouble of making them up.) Those damages undermine any subsequent relationship.
Adultery is perhaps the most injurious activity that we can pursue out of all the human relationships in which we participate. It hurts the two participants. It hurts the spurned spouse/spouses. It hurts the immediate family–of both. It hurts the extended family. It hurts friends who trusted one or both of the adulterers. It hurts associations or even companies of the violators. It hurts observers who can only wonder how such devastation could be unleashed.
Finally, adultery decimates the one flesh. The spiritual and emotional bonds have been discussed before, but the physical union of man and woman is violated by adding a third participant. Even is the third party is remote and separate. In 1 Corinthians 6:18 Paul points out that all other sins are outside of our body. Immorality is actually taking sin into our own body.
Warning to parents, adult content here: Many people involved in immorality use a condom to avoid taking disease causing bacteria into their body, or transmitting them to another. But the damage from breaking covenant is far worse than STD’s or AIDS. Our suddenly uptight society is exacting a price for these violations. And this is not all bad. The solution, as it appears now, is that we are all willing to paste the violators to the wall and strip them of honor, esteem, and treasure.
The problem is that the same seeds lie in ourselves, and without the deliverance Jesus offered in John 8:11 the relentless train of betrayal will continue. Jesus told the adulterous woman to, “...go and sin no more.” We often dwell on the first phrase, “Neither do I condemn you....” Jesus final words were not an exhortation to try one’s best to avoid sin. It was a promise that He could deliver us from the sin that He just forgave. It is empowering. It is not only possible, it is the normal outcome of believing, receiving, and accepting His offering.
Brother Billy’s sermon is just as cogent and germane today as it was 50 years ago. God did not prohibit things to keep us from enjoying life. Rather He gave us guidance as to how to maximize our enjoyment of life as we live it down here. Leave, cleave, and weave.
As we watch the Olympics we do not see a skier deliberately ski off the side of a cliff. Instead, he follows the path marked by the organizers to achieve fame and glory–and a safe thrill. Why would we “ski off the path for happy marriage,” by deliberately turning over the side of the mountain?
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
One such pastor was most students’ favorite. He was the local pastor of the big Southern Baptist Church which was just down the street. Many of the SBC pastors went by their first names, like Pastor Jerry, or Brother Bobby. I was used to “Reverend McClun” and so on. This preacher went even farther and told us to call him by his name only. So when Billy was going to preach, we were anticipating a real treat. He was funny, and told very good stories to illustrate his points.
The crowd was very ready when he approached the podium one of the days he was scheduled to preach. We expected to be entertained, enlightened, and encouraged. He took the podium, looked out at us for a second or two, (Dramatic pause) and began.
“The seventh commandment says, ‘THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY!’” He ended his pronouncement with a hearty fist slam to the pulpit. “Now I know that most of you guys (700 guys and about 40 girls) think your are exempt from this because you are not married. But a lot of you have girl friends and you are touching and kissing places that you should not touch or kiss. If you don’t have a girl right now, maybe you are looking at pornographic literature. You are committing adultery. Fornication and adultery are both included in this commandment. And those of you who are not yet convicted, if you even look at some of the town girls or the Kilgore Rangerettes and fantasize about them you are too.”
Talk about a wake up call. Many of us had never before considered what Jesus said when He said that to look at a woman with lust was to commit adultery in one’s heart. Brother Billy ended that somewhat wilfull ignorance.
His sermon came to mind as I prepared the lesson for Genesis 2:18-25. There we have the ideal marriage. Boy does our society need to get back to the basics. From business men, to politicians, to entertainers, to ordinary “guys in the street,” we are floundering with how to respond to what almost seems incessant temptation. And many high profile personages all over the landscape have succumbed. And crashed and burned.
Let’s look back to the “drawing board” to see how the prototype was displayed and perhaps find our way out of the morass in which we flounder. First, God brought all of the animals to Adam to name. (We explored this is detail in the lesson: Genesis 2:18-25, Eve. It is posted on my page on FaceBook. Video and text.) Somewhere during the process, Adam became aware of something that God already knew. There were two of everything else, but only one of him. Only then, did God put Adam to sleep and take a rib to fashion a “helper, suitable for him.”
When Adam work up, he expostulated, “This is it!” (League’s Loose Translation) “This is my bone. This is my flesh.”
Then, either he or Moses, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, spelled out the framework of the ideal marriage. (Verse 24) “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”
There are three prongs to this statement. First “a man shall leave his father and mother....” This “leaving” is not an isolation or totally ignoring them. It is a spiritual and emotional separation. The family, and mother in particular, is to assume a lower place in the hierarchy of his esteem. His wife is now the highest priority of anyone or anything on earth. God is first, of course, then the wife. No exceptions.
A good way to summarize it is in the little phrase that occasionally occurs in some wedding ceremonies, “Forsaking all, I choose you.” This leads into the second prong, join. The man is joined to his wife. This is not the “one flesh” part, which comes next. This is a compact or a contract, if you please, between the man and woman that turns them from a couple into a single unit. They are no longer two individuals, but they have become one, a family of two to begin with. King James uses an archaic word that maybe we should revive: “Cleave.” Cleave means to cling together inseparably.
It is like welding two pieces of steel together. A properly done weld cannot be broken. If it is cut apart, some of each piece will remain as part of the other. The marriage agreement, likewise, joins a man and a woman into a single unit, that we call a family. And this points to the final prong of our discussion.
“...and they shall become one flesh.” This is the whoopee! part of marriage, but even more it represents the perfection of the joining process. They are no longer two, but one. Physically, they are joined in body, but more importantly, the unification of their souls and spirits is complete. Brother Billy may have been the one to suggest this picture. He said just as several threads are combined to weave a single tapestry, so the threads of our lives are woven together in the tapestry of our marriages.
The threefold paradigm can be encapsulated in leave, cleave, and weave. And adultery not only violates, it vitiates, destroys all three aspects of marriage. That is why it was forbidden in the seventh commandment. It is bad for everyone.
When we promise to leave or forsake everyone else, that means nobody or no thing can come between us. (Changing from third person to first person here. It is deliberate, Mrs. Cheney.) Entering into an adulterous liaison trashes that promise by replacing the wife with someone else. It hurts me because I have now become a liar, a covenant breaker, and probably several other things. It hurts my bride, because first, I have lied to her, then second I have devalued her. That is something I have no right to do. In fact, I am commanded to build her up. More obedience issues there, it seems.
The second leg that is shattered is the joining. Just like cutting a weld in two damages both pieces, so violating the integrity of my bond with my wife is injurious to both. This is true even if I do not immediately recognize it. Just ask any of the perpetrators who “got caught.” Even if they did not get caught and publically exposed and condemned, they are damaged goods. (Aside: Second marriages fail more often than the initial marriages. You can check out the statistics and save me the trouble of making them up.) Those damages undermine any subsequent relationship.
Adultery is perhaps the most injurious activity that we can pursue out of all the human relationships in which we participate. It hurts the two participants. It hurts the spurned spouse/spouses. It hurts the immediate family–of both. It hurts the extended family. It hurts friends who trusted one or both of the adulterers. It hurts associations or even companies of the violators. It hurts observers who can only wonder how such devastation could be unleashed.
Finally, adultery decimates the one flesh. The spiritual and emotional bonds have been discussed before, but the physical union of man and woman is violated by adding a third participant. Even is the third party is remote and separate. In 1 Corinthians 6:18 Paul points out that all other sins are outside of our body. Immorality is actually taking sin into our own body.
Warning to parents, adult content here: Many people involved in immorality use a condom to avoid taking disease causing bacteria into their body, or transmitting them to another. But the damage from breaking covenant is far worse than STD’s or AIDS. Our suddenly uptight society is exacting a price for these violations. And this is not all bad. The solution, as it appears now, is that we are all willing to paste the violators to the wall and strip them of honor, esteem, and treasure.
The problem is that the same seeds lie in ourselves, and without the deliverance Jesus offered in John 8:11 the relentless train of betrayal will continue. Jesus told the adulterous woman to, “...go and sin no more.” We often dwell on the first phrase, “Neither do I condemn you....” Jesus final words were not an exhortation to try one’s best to avoid sin. It was a promise that He could deliver us from the sin that He just forgave. It is empowering. It is not only possible, it is the normal outcome of believing, receiving, and accepting His offering.
Brother Billy’s sermon is just as cogent and germane today as it was 50 years ago. God did not prohibit things to keep us from enjoying life. Rather He gave us guidance as to how to maximize our enjoyment of life as we live it down here. Leave, cleave, and weave.
As we watch the Olympics we do not see a skier deliberately ski off the side of a cliff. Instead, he follows the path marked by the organizers to achieve fame and glory–and a safe thrill. Why would we “ski off the path for happy marriage,” by deliberately turning over the side of the mountain?
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
Parenting 501
We took our kids to interesting places, especially when they were quite young, and had a problem in many of those venues. I was reminded of this when we accompanied our grandkids on a trip to a science adventure museum. We enjoyed watching them explore new and different things, but the same difficulty manifested itself.
We would enter the facility and they kids would immediately gravitate to the first attraction or display and begin to explore it. After a few minutes, we would gently urge them on to the next place. But they were having such a good time that they resisted. But we knew that there were more interesting and exciting things farther on.
After they glimpsed the “new” interest, they immediately fastened on that. Again, we had to move them on to the next place. This continued until we reached the end of the display. Ironically, the final one was a slide from the second floor down to the first. They were a little reluctant to go the first time, then enthusiastically raced back up the stairs to repeat it. They, and a large group of the other guests, circulated from first floor to the second, slide down to first, back up to the second, and repeat. I lost track of how many times they repeated this cycle.
As I was watching, my eye roved over the rest of the museum. The formerly exciting and enticing displays were now completely neglected. They were still interesting, and informative, but another attraction had captured their fancy.
That revelation was reinforced to me as I considered the situation as some of our family was being “moved” from one place to another. They loved the first place they were, and resisted moving. I have a strong premonition that once a new venue is unveiled, they will, like the museum goers, forget the old one, in comparison to the excitement of the new.
Our Loving Heavenly Father sometimes urges us on to a “new place” so that He can reveal more and deeper enjoyment than we currently experience. He does not move us out of spite or to punish us, but to enhance our enjoyment of Him. The Westminster Shorter Catechism begins with the statement that man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. A lot of times, our enjoyment must be stimulated by moving to another level.
The final book of C. S Lewis’ Narnia series has his heroes entering the hereafter that we consider heaven. The first level is exciting and engaging. They begin to settle down to enjoy it. But Aslan, the Lion, is constantly urging them to leave that and go “higher up and farther in.” The concept of the story is that this continual improvement will continue forever. In 1 Corinthians 2:9, Paul said that, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”
God has a plan for us that will never cease to amaze and reward us. We can see some of that “down here” before we get to heaven. So when we feel the loving nudge from a loving Father, we should not resist, but embrace the change and enjoy the “trip” to His next marvel.
We move our kids to the next item, and even though it may not be a blockbuster, it is new and enticing to them. Wise parents do not just let them camp on one experience when there are other options that we know will also enthrall them. Our Father is way ahead of us in Parenting U. Trust Him.
We would enter the facility and they kids would immediately gravitate to the first attraction or display and begin to explore it. After a few minutes, we would gently urge them on to the next place. But they were having such a good time that they resisted. But we knew that there were more interesting and exciting things farther on.
After they glimpsed the “new” interest, they immediately fastened on that. Again, we had to move them on to the next place. This continued until we reached the end of the display. Ironically, the final one was a slide from the second floor down to the first. They were a little reluctant to go the first time, then enthusiastically raced back up the stairs to repeat it. They, and a large group of the other guests, circulated from first floor to the second, slide down to first, back up to the second, and repeat. I lost track of how many times they repeated this cycle.
As I was watching, my eye roved over the rest of the museum. The formerly exciting and enticing displays were now completely neglected. They were still interesting, and informative, but another attraction had captured their fancy.
That revelation was reinforced to me as I considered the situation as some of our family was being “moved” from one place to another. They loved the first place they were, and resisted moving. I have a strong premonition that once a new venue is unveiled, they will, like the museum goers, forget the old one, in comparison to the excitement of the new.
Our Loving Heavenly Father sometimes urges us on to a “new place” so that He can reveal more and deeper enjoyment than we currently experience. He does not move us out of spite or to punish us, but to enhance our enjoyment of Him. The Westminster Shorter Catechism begins with the statement that man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. A lot of times, our enjoyment must be stimulated by moving to another level.
The final book of C. S Lewis’ Narnia series has his heroes entering the hereafter that we consider heaven. The first level is exciting and engaging. They begin to settle down to enjoy it. But Aslan, the Lion, is constantly urging them to leave that and go “higher up and farther in.” The concept of the story is that this continual improvement will continue forever. In 1 Corinthians 2:9, Paul said that, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”
God has a plan for us that will never cease to amaze and reward us. We can see some of that “down here” before we get to heaven. So when we feel the loving nudge from a loving Father, we should not resist, but embrace the change and enjoy the “trip” to His next marvel.
We move our kids to the next item, and even though it may not be a blockbuster, it is new and enticing to them. Wise parents do not just let them camp on one experience when there are other options that we know will also enthrall them. Our Father is way ahead of us in Parenting U. Trust Him.
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