This week’s devotions come from Shiann’s pen:
Having been a Christian for what seems like my whole physical life and having attended church almost weekly since my birth, the stories of the Bible are old hat to me. I enjoy SO much when I get to see/hear them with fresh eyes. Please look with me at a couple of stories with new eyes over the next couple of days.
In Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw’s book Jesus for President, there is a very interesting depiction of the Flood.
So, by the sixth chapter of the Bible, things had already gotten really ugly. We read. “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. (Gen 6:11)” Violence infected the earth like a disease. What was God to do?
At first glance, the flood might seem to us like the most violent thing that has ever happened, especially in the wake of contemporary storms and tsunamis. But the biblical narrative treats it as an act of protection from the corruption and violence that had plagued the creation. It’s like a divine chemotherapy, or the pruning of a diseased plant to save its life. God loves humanity so much that watching us kill ourselves is absolutely intolerable. So God saved humanity through the flood.”
I had to read this section several times to digest the weight of these thoughts and it has stuck with me over the last few weeks. I believe this may be a more accurate statement of how God sees the Flood story than the one I had thought. Mostly, we tell this story as a children’s story, giving little thought to the whys of the situation, just passing on the content with limited context.
If we look through the lenses of the new information, I believe we can see that discipline as discussed throughout the Bible is because “God loves humanity so much that watching us [kill, damage with words, hurt with social isolation, you fill in the blank] ourselves is absolutely intolerable.” We are to show the Fruit of the Spirit and not fall into worldly habits not because God expects us to be perfect. God sees that the alternative to these positive behaviors and attitudes is consistently hurtful to us and others.
Let us keep this in mind as we approach each other in corrective situations.
Blessings,
Shiann
