Loose Ends for August
“Ready Or Not” by Nichole Nordeman for July, 2006 Issue of CCM Magazine
Most parents, educators and psychologists agree.
It just never occurred to me how messy and awkward it could be.
I picked up a children’s book called Heroes of the Old Testament the other day. What little boy doesn’t like a good hero? This, I decided, would help me introduce him to Bible stories one pop-up Moses at a time. That night, we read the first story and it raised some issues I wasn’t ready for. I may be incredibly choosy about what he has for dinner or what videos he watches, but I had not considered that I might need to monitor Bible stories as well. Here is a basic summary of the story I was reading my 3 year old:
Joseph’s dad loved him the best. (Way more than the other kids). He gave him a really neat coat with lots of nice colors. His brothers got jealous and beat him up and threw him in a big hole and left him to die. Then they lied and said that a ferocious lion had eaten Joseph, hence the shredded coat. His dad couldn’t stop crying because he was so sad. Then someone snatched Joseph out of the hole and sold him into slavery. But it’s all good, because years later he became a nice leader of Egypt and forgave his brothers.
At some point in the middle of my panicked attempt at trying to calmly explain concepts like favoritism, jealousy, dishonesty, lion mauling and slavery…he asked if we could “just please read the train book now”.
Indeed. Thank you, Lord, for the train book.
Admit it. Explaining the violence in the Old Testament can be problematic. The loaves and fishes are far more pleasant. This is why most Christian kids sing that song about those adorable animals that came on Noah’s ark by “twosies, twosies,” but nobody wrote a verse that mentions the world-wide drowning that took place because of rampant sin. Or why we pay homage to the courage of Lot and how God honored his bravery by sparing his family from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, but we conveniently (and consistently) skip over the part where Lot sends his virgin daughters out to a crowd of crazy men to be raped in an effort to pacify them. I just backspaced over that several times, because I’m certain it sounds too horrible and harsh. But this is Genesis we’re talking about…it’s not like I’m embellishing for dramatic effect.
Before you send me a very well constructed email explaining the righteous anger of the Old Testament God versus the grace of the New Testament Jesus….I assure you that I get it. I really do. I understand that Jesus was the sacrifice that stood in place of the punishment we rightly deserve. And I am in love with Christ because of that understanding. I just don’t think my 3 year old is quite there, which was my mistake, not the Bible’s.
This brings me to my point. (Finally, you say). I really love the way God reveals Himself to us only when we are ready. Not a moment too soon. He knows when we are only prepared to drink milk and when we are ready for some meat, as Paul put it. How many times, looking back on your life, have you realized that only God could have known when you were ready to learn certain things? Even in listening back to previous records, I am struck by God’s timing. There are many songs I never could have written 8 years ago, not because I am a better songwriter today, but because I just wasn’t ready for those particular lessons, yet.
I guess I had never considered that scripture would be a part of that very gradual revelation. I’ve always thought of the Bible as a rather static account of stories, truth, lessons and life that God gave and protected for us. You either “got it” or you didn’t. But now I am starting to understand that it lives and breathes between the bound leather and that certain things might actually leap off the page only when we are ready…and you might be three or ninety three when that happens. I could read the same passage hundreds of times, but it won’t matter unless the seed is finally falling on fertile soil. Perhaps this might help to explain the countless interpretations of scripture. After all, what man is immune to his own perspective and prejudice?
There will come a time when the story of Joseph makes more sense to the heart of my toddler. There might come a time when Lot’s choices might make more sense to me. Maybe that time will come on the other side of this life…but I do believe that God reveals things in His time, not ours.
Peace to every traveler….
Kids are unbelievably impressionable at a very early age. Give them processed junk food from the time they can say Twinkie, and odds are, they won’t ever be all that into broccoli. Stick them in front of five consecutive hours of Sponge Bob every day and they probably won’t be building imaginary castles in the back yard very often. And while I am a huge advocate of vegetables and castles, I also know that an early introduction to my son’s faith is more important still.
So…um…the end.
Night night, sweetie.
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