Category Archives: God’s character

Tending To It

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In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had only one chore: God instructed them to tend the garden. He had already accomplished the planting, and there were no weeds to pull. Garden of EdenGenesis 2 tells us they didn’t even have to water it, since the river took care of that. From the sound of it, all they had to do was decide which “delicious fruit” they felt like eating each day and then eat it.

But then sin and rebellion entered the picture, and everything changed. On that awful day, God approached them in a mindset they’d not seen before. His goal was to have a serious talk with them, describing the demotion they were about to experience. And none of it sounded good.

God used the words “curse, pain, hostility, labor, toil, sweat, thorns, and thistles.” Sadly, this meeting, during which Adam and Eve said nothing, was their last before being ejected from the garden and their perfect lives there.  Immediately afterwards, he sent them away.

NateNelsonNow, thousands of years later, the words of God’s solemn speech to our ancestors still apply to us. We bump into them virtually every day as we tend to our homes, our cars, our bills, our health, our relationships, and yes, the thorns and thistles in our gardens.

Adam and Eve started out with only one tending-chore, and that a pleasant one. But after sin happened, they and the rest of us have had to tend to one thing or another virtually around the clock. Our work never ends. As Mom used to say, “Even when we sleep, the dust is settling, the weeds are growing, and the sheets are getting dirty.”

But God knew that the many new stresses on his first two people might overwhelm them (and us too), so he did something wonderful. Though he subtracted Adam and Eve’s idyllic lifestyle and substituted a list of negatives, he left some important positives in place.

This young couple would still be able to share laughter, enjoy tasty food, experience pleasing aromas, get excited about things, and experience joy, love, contentment, and lots more. Though God did punish them on that fateful day, he also encouraged them by allowing them to keep many of the good gifts he’d given them in Eden. And amazingly, he continues to give those same gifts to us today.

Surely Adam and Eve walked out of their beautiful garden that day feeling miserable and fearful. But God was actually tending to their hearts in a way they almost certainly didn’t realize then: His strong, saving presence was walking right out with them.

And amazingly, he’s still walking with us today.

“The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.” (Psalm 103:13)

Family Blessings

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Before I had grandchildren, I would read Scripture’s references to them and make no connection. But now those same verses mean a lot more, because they include names and faces.

The basic message is, “If you live to see grandchildren come into your family, you’ll be blessed beyond measure.” Jeremiah put it this way: “Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them, so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away!” (29:6, NLT)

With Isaac, used on Linni's blogThe joys of grandchildren are as varied as the children themselves, and grandparents love noticing personality differences and God-given bents. With the buffer of a generation between us (our own children), we’re free to encourage and nurture them without having to participate in the more challenging tasks of parenthood, like discipline and decision-making.

But what happens if we grow into old age without any children and thus without grandchildren? Are we meant to forfeit those scriptural blessings?

I don’t think so. The key to claiming the blessing is to understand how broad the definition of the word “grandchildren” is in the Bible. One of those verses hints at it by saying, “Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged.” (Proverbs 17:6) Though I dearly love my grandchildren, I wouldn’t call them a “crowning glory.” I think the words “crowning glory” have more to do with spiritual matters than physical ones.

If someone asked me, “What’s your life’s crowning glory?” I would answer, “My saving relationship with Christ.” Psalm 103 says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies.” (v. 1 & 4) Now, that’s a crown I love wearing!

But how do we link a spiritual crown with grandchildren? I think the answer is in our parenting (and grandparenting) of spiritual children. When we lead someone to Christ, explaining salvation, then praying with them, followed by mentoring them, we become a type of parent to them. One dear friend of mine calls me her “spiritual mother,” a great honor.

If she then leads others to Christ by her testimony, those people become her spiritual children and a type of spiritual grandchildren to me. And if they, in turn, lead others, my friend becomes the spiritual grandparent.

I understand that God has no grandchildren, because he’s the Father to all believers. But by bearing witness to the reality of his love, our spiritual family can grow by generations, having nothing to do with biology and everything to do with divinity. We can delight in those generational grands that become related to us through salvation, continuing our encouraging and nurturing right into eternity.

Heaven's gateAnd then, just imagine the thrill of standing at heaven’s gate, welcoming our spiritual children and grandchildren as they arrive! That’s a jewel-studded crown of glory every one of us will be overjoyed to wear.

 

“One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.” (Psalm 145:4)

Left and Right

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This morning in church, just as the service started, a snowstorm started, too. Because the temperature was above freezing, it didn’t “stick,” but it was very pretty. I noticed something funny, though.

WestNorthOut the western windows snowflakes were gently falling straight down. Out the north they were whipping sideways. I figured it was the shape of the building com- bined with wind currents.

It reminded me of a visit we made to Hawaii 27 years ago. The “wild island” of Kauai had beautiful beaches and rolling waves, but no one was swimming. That’s because skies were forever full of threatening black clouds and winds were fierce.

But then I learned the truth. While catching up on laundry at a public laundromat, I was grousing about the bad weather when another mom shared something interesting. “You know, don’t you, that on the other side of the island it’s always sunny?”

She explained how something called “localized weather phenomena” caused radically different weather systems on different sides of the island, sometimes to the extreme. We were on the south end, and if we drove a few miles toward the west, she said, we’d be on “the warm sunny side.”

These two weather stories reminded me of a biblical Proverb that says we shouldn’t let our left hand know what our right is doing. The instruction refers to our giving. God says we should do it in secret, telling us that he sees all anonymous giving and will reward us accordingly.

Anonymous giving isn’t all that common these days, though I suppose if it’s truly anonymous, who would know? Maybe the Bible’s point is that giving in secret comes with a couple of perks: it’s a type of hard-won victory to accomplish it without anyone knowing, and even better than that, God himself will be the One to reward us.

Left and rightOf course we can’t really give in such a way that our left hand isn’t aware of what our right hand is doing, since both are connected to the same brain. But then again, watching the same snowstorm behave independently west and north, and the same island vary significantly south and west makes me want to try.

“When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:3-4)

Praising and Praying with Mary

A praise report on grandson Anders, doing well at home and now up to 5 pounds 11 ounces!