Apples of Gold

When my girls were little we had a bit of a hand-me-down dilemma. Our middle daughter, Kendyll is 10 days short of being 2 years older than our youngest daughter, Taylor. After Taylor was born, baby clothes passed from Kendyll to Taylor-sometimes they had even gone through our oldest daughter, Chelsea. Before long it became evident that Taylor was catching up to Kendyll.  There was a period of time that we were frequently stopped and asked about our “twin” daughters. Kendyll was old enough to not be amused, but when Taylor started handing her clothes down to Kendyll it was a whole different story. 

For most young families, hand-me-downs can be a lifesaver financially. I enjoyed getting those black trash bags full of out-grown clothes. There were always a few things that didn’t fit right, some that I didn’t really care for and others that you had to wonder-“What were they thinking?” While hand-me-downs are nice, it is much more exciting to get to pick out brand new clothing that fits just right, is the right color AND style.  

Wearing second-hand clothing is one thing, but when we allow our relationship with God to consist mainly of hand-me-downs we soon find ourselves in trouble. The lineage of Joseph provides a great example of this.  There are some very big names in his family tree, starting with his great-grandfather, Abraham. It doesn’t get much better than that! In Isaiah 41:8 God refers to Abraham as His friend. Next came his grandfather, Isaac. Isaac grew up watching his dad have a very personal relationship with God-I would imagine in our culture they would have been at church whenever the doors were open and their commitment would have been evident to all who knew them. Genesis 25:5 tells us that Abraham gave everything to Isaac. It is likely that Isaac lived in Abraham’s shadow most of his life. Certainly Scripture doesn’t tell us everything, but the first mention we see of God appearing to Isaac, is very late in his life. He didn’t get married until he was forty and Jacob and Esau arrived when he was sixty. This happens after the boys grew up, so he was maybe 75-80 years old. Although Isaac was faithful to the Lord, he doesn’t appear to have spent much time conversing with him. 

Joseph’s father, Jacob, is well known for being on the tricky side. It is not until he returns to the land of his fathers that Jacob has his own encounter with God. In fact, even after that encounter, we find him praying like this:

Then Jacob payed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac-O LORD you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives,’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly,’ I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. Genesis 32:9-10

Jacob doesn’t refer to God as ‘his’ God, but rather the God of his lineage. He seems a bit wary of trusting God’s promise to treat him kindly as well-he even mentions it twice in this prayer, just in case the first one didn’t stick. Surely he had grown up hearing the stories of the ventures of his grandfather Abraham. He had watched his father Isaac building a relationship with God and here we find him, at least to some degree, living with a hand-me-down relationship with God. It isn’t until he feels his very life is threatened that he has his famous wrestling match with God. With each generation the closeness to God seemed to dim. God was still around and working in their lives but the personal connection of “friend” seemed more of a distant memory.

Our churches served as almost a second home for our children. They spent untold hours riding their bikes in the parking lot, or watching Veggie Tales in the nursery while Brad and I worked. They were comfortable scavenging for a snack in the kitchen and they knew where the “good stuff” was hidden for children’s church. Sometimes proximity brings a casual approach to our relationship with God as well. Being around a move of God, listening to others talk about what he is doing in their lives can give us a false sense of comfort. Knowing someone who knows God intimately isn’t enough. 

But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the LORD. I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, You should know the lord. For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already, says the lord. And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins. Jeremiah 31:33-34

Thankfully this trend stopped with Joseph. Joseph seemed to connect with God even as a child. His walk seemed to hearken back to Abraham’s close relationship with his God. God is calling us to a first-hand, personal relationship with him. While learning from others through teaching, reading and mentoring are valuable in our pursuit of maturity, if we do not have the intimate connection with God himself they will leave us with a hand-me-down faith that never quite satisfies our needs. 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Matthew 5:6