The Chosen

Softly With the Lambs

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir. Genesis 33:14 KJV

I love the scene from The Chosen, when Jacob’s sons are digging a well and a neighbor comes over to tell them they probably won’t find any water and then falls into a conversation with Jacob about God. You see no one had ever heard of the God of Israel because Jacob’s name had only recently been changed to Israel. So, the neighbor begins to ask what kind of god Jacob served. First, Jacob begins explaining that God created the universe, that He is invisible and that they do not have a statue of Him anywhere. But as their talk is coming to an end Jacob adds, “Oh yes and He broke my hip!”  Now I personally have always found that fact pretty curious. Why would God do that? Maybe the Bible answers that question in this scene from the day after the hip breaking. Jacob had come to meet with his brother Esau and is both astonished and grateful for the mercy he encounters. And when I came to today’s verse I simply thought that Jacob was again dealing in half truth’s when he told his brother to go on ahead. But then I remembered why Jacob had to follow slowly. God had put his hip out of joint and we are told that Jacob walked with a limp because of that for the rest of his life.

Do you feel like God has broken your hip? Does it seem that other people can hurry ahead to do all kinds of exciting things, but your disability holds you back? But just as God did with Jacob, He has not caused us injury to harm us. Instead, God is teaching us to walk softly with the lambs. You see, all his life Jacob had been running. He always did everything he could to get ahead of everyone else. But after Jacob met with God, he lost his ability to run. God wanted Jacob to walk softly with the lambs, and just in case he forgot, he was given a limp. Every step reminded him to go at the pace that God had chosen. Maybe the limp in your life looks different than Jacob’s but when you struggle with that weakness and pain, remember that God has given us every one of His children a limp and each of us some lambs to care for until we finish our journey home.

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Never Alone!

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My featured image today of a  car in our neighborhood stands as a stark reminder of how separated and isolated many of us are. One of the things that has helped us through this time of isolation has been a Christian film production called The Chosen. While this post is not meant as a review of that series I have found particular comfort from the verse from Isaiah which is featured in the first episode because if talks about an issue that I battle with called fear. The story in that episode imagines the life of Mary Magdalene before she met Jesus. It helps us realize that just as Jesus knew about Mary’s s inner struggles, God also knows us as we really are deep below the surface of what others see. He doesn’t deny our doubts and weaknesses but instead He invites us to find in Him the answer.

Have you noticed lately that on every television channel are commercials, public service announcements and personal messages telling us that we don’t need to be afraid because we are all in this together? While I confess that I love these and they encourage me but their message is only partially true. Sure there are folks doing wonderful things every day to help people; but there are also still drug overdoses, violent crimes and even sadly a growing number of Corona virus money scams. If we are looking for real courage that is more than bravado we need a source higher than ourselves, our neighbors, family or doctors. We need the unfailing love of Jesus Christ. When we struggle with our fear of death, God reminds us that it was He who gave us life. When we face our deepest failures and sins Jesus shows us His hands and says, “I have redeemed you.” When no one knocks on our door and we are alone Jesus calls us by name. And because He has called us His own we can refuse every fear. We can belong to an eternal God and He is offering right now to make us a part of His family. When we simply turn around and answer His call then truly and forever we will never be alone!

 

By the way here is the link for episode One if you would like to begin to see this wonderful series.

 

https://youtu.be/craeyJdrCsE