If you have heard the comparisons of how a woman's mind works versus a man's mind-- the woman's mind is more like spaghetti and a man's more like a waffle, with its nice, neat compartments (which I like to fill with butter)-- you will understand where I am going.
My mind is probably usually like angel hair pasta and it never quits thinking of several things at once. In fact, even as I typed that sentence, my mind thought of vocal rehearsal this morning (both not hitting a note flat again and the breakout in song of Richard Marx's "Hold on to the Night"), how I can be a better listener, especially as it relates to racial reconciliation, and how adoption has taught me so much about my own spiritual adoption. I digress. This is my never-keep-still mind.
Then there are the moments where all the spaghetti boils out of the brain and I am left with scribbled notes on papers, with lots of arrows and chicken scratching overlapping it all. Hopefully this is a cleaned-up version of such a brain dump I had a few weeks ago.
Embryo adoption is different than traditional adoption. As a Christian, the cry would be to Christian families to be more open to the possibility of raising up these children whose, like the rest of us, only hope is Christ. There are souls of countless children at stake and we are called to care for the widow and the orphan. We know that these children were conceived, born under and raised under Adam's fall, until and unless they have a personal saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. But embryo adoption is different. These are souls that are not yet liable for their inherited curse. Right now, one might consider these embryos, in very rudimentary and dangerously crude terminology, as "spiritually safe". I acknowledge there are many who would vehemently disagree with this notion, just as I disagree with aspects of that profound, yet befuddled, assertion. In the simplest scenario, those indefinitely cryopreserved lives would go to heaven upon Jesus return.
I would argue that these lives are of the most endangered, but for the sake of this brain dump and thread of argumentation, please stay with me on the goose chase. Within this line of thinking, I drifted to the thoughts many of us had even before we had children: Why would I risk her life by bringing her into a corrupt world, no longer a guarantee of heaven? This question is a result of the greatest fear I have as a parent: my children have the choice to reject God, and they may make that choice.
First, especially in regards to embryos, I would strongly warn that if we play this line of thinking to logical conclusion, we would agree that abortion is permissible and perhaps even merciful. God forbid it! That is not the path and line of thinking I am on. Let's jump onto the bigger projection God had prepared for me in this instance.
As I was pondering, praying and looking into the Word, the obvious question came to me: Why did God take the risk with us? And not only risk, but knowledge of our rejection of Him before He even said, "Let there be light." I got as far as three reasons: 1. His glory, 2. His love, 3. His grace.
His Glory.
For my own name's sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, so as not to destroy you completely. See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? Isaiah 48: 9-11
For my own name's sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, so as not to destroy you completely. See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? Isaiah 48: 9-11
I love how the Scriptures reveal God's glory, but especially in powerful passages in Isaiah, God's questioning of Job and the Psalms. The New Testament and ongoing ministry of the Spirit is for God's glory in the person of Jesus Christ. The New Testament also gives commentary to help us understand the Old, such as Romans 9:17. Even the hard-hearted Pharoah's purpose and story was to bring God glory, even though that wasn't Pharoah's purpose: For Scripture says to Pharoah: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth" (Romans 9:17).
We were created to proclaim God's glory. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). This is a call to us and our future child/ren. They need a chance to let their light shine.Remember Jesus's explanation for the man born blind? What was his sin? What was the sin of his parents? Jesus answered, "...this happened so that the works fo God might be displayed in him" (John 9:7). Every life is created to proclaim God's glory, including our child/ren that are waiting to be born.
His Love.
We need God's love. We need it. God didn't need love. He can be no more or no less love than exists within the perfect triune of Himself. Because He is triune, He is both giver and object of love (see John 17:24).
Yet, God gave love. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Ephesians 1:4-6
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son even before the world He loved existed. God loves life! He created it even though He didn't need it. I can't not provide life and love to that which God already made (read that again, noting the intentional, non-grammatical, double negative). I am compelled to give fuller life by the conviction of the Spirit and by the example of Jesus.
For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again (II Corinthians 5:14).
His Grace.
A few years ago, we had a greatly inquisitive Confirmation class that I was co-teaching. And I knew-- I just KNEW-- that the question would come. If God knew that we were going to rebel and reject Him, why did He create us in the first place? Honestly, I was not ready with the answer, so I decided I better be ready when the question came. I admit, I had to Google the question to rely upon someone else's wisdom, and when I heard it from the lips of Brother Paul Washer, I nearly slapped my head in response to the obvious answer.
Grace.
God cannot show or manifest His grace without a sinner, without someone in need of it. Grace is integral to the character of God-- could you imagine defining God without it? If you can, please talk to me or another Christian-- we have some great news for you!
God defines Himself to Moses in Exodus 34:
And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "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.
That is amazing grace.
Now, I would be remiss if I did not include the rest of verse 7 of the passage:
Yet, he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.
To be a God of mercy, grace and love, He must also be Just.
God manifested His glory, love and grace through His Savior Son, Jesus Christ.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (John 3:16-17).
We continue to step forward, knowing that God's call is for His glory, because of His love, relying fully on His mercy and grace.
We were created to proclaim God's glory. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). This is a call to us and our future child/ren. They need a chance to let their light shine.Remember Jesus's explanation for the man born blind? What was his sin? What was the sin of his parents? Jesus answered, "...this happened so that the works fo God might be displayed in him" (John 9:7). Every life is created to proclaim God's glory, including our child/ren that are waiting to be born.
His Love.
We need God's love. We need it. God didn't need love. He can be no more or no less love than exists within the perfect triune of Himself. Because He is triune, He is both giver and object of love (see John 17:24).
Yet, God gave love. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Ephesians 1:4-6
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son even before the world He loved existed. God loves life! He created it even though He didn't need it. I can't not provide life and love to that which God already made (read that again, noting the intentional, non-grammatical, double negative). I am compelled to give fuller life by the conviction of the Spirit and by the example of Jesus.
For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again (II Corinthians 5:14).
His Grace.
A few years ago, we had a greatly inquisitive Confirmation class that I was co-teaching. And I knew-- I just KNEW-- that the question would come. If God knew that we were going to rebel and reject Him, why did He create us in the first place? Honestly, I was not ready with the answer, so I decided I better be ready when the question came. I admit, I had to Google the question to rely upon someone else's wisdom, and when I heard it from the lips of Brother Paul Washer, I nearly slapped my head in response to the obvious answer.
Grace.
God cannot show or manifest His grace without a sinner, without someone in need of it. Grace is integral to the character of God-- could you imagine defining God without it? If you can, please talk to me or another Christian-- we have some great news for you!
God defines Himself to Moses in Exodus 34:
And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "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.
That is amazing grace.
Now, I would be remiss if I did not include the rest of verse 7 of the passage:
Yet, he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.
To be a God of mercy, grace and love, He must also be Just.
God manifested His glory, love and grace through His Savior Son, Jesus Christ.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (John 3:16-17).
We continue to step forward, knowing that God's call is for His glory, because of His love, relying fully on His mercy and grace.
No comments:
Post a Comment