Readings for today: Genesis 10-11
“I don’t understand.” If only I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that phrase come out of one of my child’s mouths. Usually it’s a response generated by a request from either myself or their mother for them to do something. Homework. Chores. Dishes. Taking out the trash. We ask them to sit down and finish their work. We ask them to put aside their devices so they can focus. We ask them to work first so they can play later. They resist us, of course. They want to do what they want to do. They want their own way. They want to be in control of their own lives. They struggle to submit to any kind of authority be it their parents or their teachers at school. However, they are smart enough to know they can’t just refuse so they tell us they “don’t understand.” It’s a crafty play, I’ll give them that! But as we gently but firmly ask questions to tease out what they mean we tend to almost always land on the fact that they just don’t want to do what we’re asking them to do. Any parents out there want to give me an “Amen?” ;-)
It’s the first thing I think about when I read the Tower of Babel story. I can almost hear humanity drawing in a collective breath and saying to God, “I don’t understand.” What do you mean you want us to “be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth?” What do you mean you want us to “exercise dominion over all you have made?” What do you mean you want us to bear your image into all creation? What do you mean, God? Why can’t we simply stay together? Stay safe? Stay comfortable? Don’t you value family, God? Isn’t family our “first ministry?” Think of all the things we can do for you right here, God! We all speak the same language. We know each other really well. Look, we can even build a tower to the heavens!
It’s not about understanding, of course, it’s about obedience. My children don’t need to always understand why I ask them to do the things I ask them to do though I do try to give them as much information as possible. Humanity doesn’t always need to understand why God commands us to fulfill the creation mandate. We simply need to obey. I am quite sure the descendants of Noah were suffering from deep-seated, historical trauma. Their entire world had been destroyed in a great flood. The echoes of that terrifying natural disaster would have rippled out across the generations. No wonder they wanted to stay together! No wonder they wanted to build a tower that stretched to the heavens! It would serve as a fixed point on the horizon of their lives. It would help them feel safe. Secure. No matter how far away they got, they could always look back and see the tower they had built. Not only that but it boosted their collective self-esteem. Their collective self-image. Their collective self-confidence. They were not at the mercy of their elements! They were not at the mercy of the natural world! They had shaped and formed a tower so immense it would rise above any future flood that may come. It would protect them. It would serve as a place of refuge in case something terrible happened.
Friends, this is our fundamental problem. We want to trust in ourselves rather than God. We want to do things our way rather than God’s way. We want to be in control. But God demands obedience. Not because He is capricious or arbitrary or mean but because He has a plan. He has a purpose. He has a design for our lives and He knows we will find our greatest joy, our greatest hope, our greatest peace in serving Him. “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. Exercise dominion over all I have made. Bear my image into all of creation.” This is the mandate given to humanity and every time we resist it. Every time we push back against it. Every time we refuse to obey, there will be judgment. Not because God delights in punishing us but because God has entrusted us with great authority and great responsibility to be His priests and priestesses over all the earth. You are more powerful than you can ever imagine. You have more influence than you can ever know. If you are a Christian, you are God’s Temple. God’s Spirit lives inside you. And now He sends you out to bring His glory to the world.
Readings for tomorrow: None. Enjoy worship with your church family!