Musings on the past – going 9/2/07

Ever hear of Minton, Colorado? I didn’t either till I read a page in Time magazine that said the town council of that town had recently banned the use of barbed wire for fencing. Seems one land-owner there had strung some of it to try to keep snowmobiles from using his property, scaring his live stock, and running down his berry bushes. Minton is just south of Vail.

The problem comes when Colorado is being sectioned, subdivided, annexed, paved over at the rate of 700 acres a day, according to the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust.

And it set me to thinking about this whole matter of preserving land and leaving some for those who would rather not be crowded. The rural community I grew up in is nearly gone. Why, the last time I visited even the old Elm tree that used to mark the turn in the lane was gone, a house sits there now. So the world changes.

What is bothersome is that rapid change often leaves behind values that have been useful for living for generations. And God’s Word, God’s Plan for living, is often relegated to a second place. Or, even worse, disregarded or thrown out as “old-fashioned”. And so often we lose our way and flounder.

The letter to the Hebrews sort of addresses just such a situation. It is about what God has done in Jesus, not what we might add to worship or ‘religion’. So it reads, “It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so we don’t drift off”. 2.1 And after once again reminding them, and us, what God has done, and what affect that has had (See the great Hebrews 11 chapter of faith heroes), we are reminded that this religion, this Jesus act for us, will affect our living, our life style.

In this morning’s sermon on Hebrews 13, 1 – 17, our pastor reminded us what this means. Marriage, for instance, must be “undefiled”. Yes, ”guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between husband and wife. God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex”. 13,5

Our faith in Jesus Christ means this. We now are obedient children, taught by the Holy Sprit to hear, and do, what He wills for us.

Just that is often lost with rapid change. Family is torn apart by jobs in distant places, so the relationship with mother and father, sister and brother, weakens. Church ties become frayed, old fiendshships are replaced, and with that often comes what Hebrews bemoans, “we drift off”. May the Lord alert you, and keep you, my friend, a faithful student of the Word, and a prayer. And God bless this.

GPD 9/1/07