Opus 2024-346: Abba God

Christians tend to think of God as father.  I was meditating on the omnipresence of God and how He sees us at all times.  We don’t seem to think about that or dwell on what that means.  He sees us that are best.  He sees us at our worst.  He sees us when we worship and sing praises to him, and to be crude, He sees us in the bathroom.

Many of our ideas of what is crude, and what is just a part of life come from our cultural traditions, rather than what the Bible tells us.  This took me to thinking of God as father, which, of course makes me think of times when I was a father dealing with my young children.  I don’t know about your experience, but mine was delightful and one of the great times of having an infant in the house was changing diapers.  Yes, changing diapers.  Some of the games we played during the time we’re awesome.  You can play hide and seek and peekaboo with a diaper and a gullible infant and if you’re quick, you can actually get him changed before he decides to squirt you in the face.

If I were doing these things with someone else’s child it might be really weird.  I would probably find it disgusting.  Changing another persons child who had a dirty diaper would be a task I could perform but would not enjoy.  On my own kids it was a time for celebration.  Again, call me weird, but when it’s your own child, it’s different.  When you are Abba and he is doofus, it changes things.

Jesus gave us this insight into the nature of God.  One of the places where Jesus was speaking to God he referred to him as “Abba.”

Mark 14:36 (KJV) And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.

The English here is a transliteration of the original text.  Thus “Abba” is the actual way you would pronounce the original word.  Paul continues to use this a number of times in his letters.  What was interesting to me when I did a search on the actual Greek word used was that it came from the Hebrew word, which was pronounce very similarly.  In the Old Testament the word is used nine times and as far as I could tell it was never used in regard to God.  It always refered to your physical father.  Another interesting point is that it comes from the Aramaic.  It is only used in Ezra and Nehemiah.  The Hebrew equivalent is used about 120 times.

I was reading the biography of Benjamin Netanyahu, and as he relates his conversation at one point with his father, he calls him “Abba”.  This reinforces the idea that it is a term of affection and deep relationship.

Jesus refers to God as Abba.  Paul continues with this idea.  What makes this something to embrace and meditate on is that this concept of God being an object of our affection and endearment is that this is also the same God who created the universe and who’s wrath is capable of wiping out entire populations.

He is ours. We are His. I hope you’re a part of that happy family.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-139: Christian Cliches: Pray and Change

I keep hearing that “Prayer changes things.”  While I accept the general idea I don’t see it as a guarantee given by the Bible.  The change is a choice of God, not the petitioner.  

You want a couple of examples?  Start at the top.  Take Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane just before He was arrested.   

(Mar 14:36 KJV)  And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.

It seems pretty clear He is asking for plan B.  At the same time He knows it isn’t going to happen.

Not enough for you?  You are a hard sell.  Next, take the apostle Paul.  Yes, the Paul who said,

(1Th 5:17 KJV)  Pray without ceasing.

Paul is well known for his thorn in the flesh.  He was not excited about it.  He asked God to remove it.

(2Co 12:8 KJV)  For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

He asked three times.  God said, “No” three times.

Too many people think that prayer is a “to-do list” for God.  Yes, there are verses that can be understood that way but they have qualifiers.

So pray.  Expect God to answer.  Accept the reality that “no” is an answer.

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-163: Monday Pulpit: Sources of Poverty, part 4 of ?, Sloth

Poverty.  It will always exist.  It will never be cured.  In the words of Jesus.

(Mark 14:7 KJV)  For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.

He was not saying this was desirable, just realistic.  That is because there are many causes to poverty and most of them are rooted in the actions of the poor.  You can educate and redistrute income all you want, you will still have poverty.  I will be looking at them in the order that I became aware of them as I read through Proverbs.

After absentee fathers, I think the biggest cause of poverty is sloth.  I come to this conclusion because it is mentioned so many times in Proverbs.  Many different words are used but they all have the idea that some people are just plain lazy and get the reward they have earned.  This is like the third rail of discussions about poverty, but it is Biblical.  Here is a verse that uses the word sluggard. 

(Proverbs 6:9-11 NAS77)  How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?  "A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest"– And your poverty will come in like a vagabond, And your need like an armed man.

So take a nap.  Lean back and relax.  You won’t need to hunt for it, poverty will find you. 

One major source of poverty is an unwillingness to work.  A warning though, don’t make the assumption that poor people are all lazy.  It could be one of the other factors we are looking at.  It could actually be beyond their control.

To be continued...