Last night, on motorist assistance duty with the local police, I was once again reminded to be resilient, to be patient, to consider other’s circumstances before judging, and to be thankful that things are not worse. In one evening, we assisted with three events that got me thinking.

A motorist was stranded on a busy four-lane bridge over the interstate. She was hoping and praying that she could make it another 1/2 mile to the gas station. She didn’t, and her insurance-paid assistance service never came. She was there so long that her battery died just flashing the four-ways. One of our officers stayed with her, behind her car with his blue lights blazing, to protect her for about an hour, and we brought a bit of fuel to get her going. And, we used our battery jump box to restart her car. Her attitude? Pleasant. Her face? A smile. Was she upset? Not a bit. She was patient and kind in the face of adversity, and the very real danger in the darkness on that bridge. She was thankful, not for our service, but thankful in spite of the circumstances.

A motorist was driving on a very busy thoroughfare at night, going up a slight incline, just after crossing over the interstate, when his transmission failed. The car simply wouldn’t go. The engine ran fine, but the transmission was slipping. One of our officers was there for a while, and then our unit stayed there for about an hour waiting for a tow truck to come, long enough for two sets of emergency flares to burn out. The gentleman came to our unit to thank us, with a smile on his face, just glad that in spite of his trouble, things were going to be better. He took the time to walk back in the cold to our car, to say “thanks,” even though he could have jumped in the wrecker and headed on. His personalized license plate suggested his profession–Reverend.

At a very busy T shaped intersection of two four-lane streets, an accident. Three cars, a typical rear end crash. As we arrived, first on scene, we saw a civilian directing traffic away from the danger. Who was this guy, risking life in the twilight and traffic? The gentleman whose car had been smashed from the rear. The wind was knocked out of him, but after recovering, he knew there was more danger if he didn’t act. There he was, waving his arms to alert oncoming traffic to slow down and move over. The young driver, so upset at her smashing into another car, tried hard to maintain her composure. She worked through what we see time and time again, that flood of adrenalin that brings muscle shakes and emotion. She checked on people and was concerned for others well-being. The fellow with the most damage (always the middle car) was on the way to the hospital to be with his daughter, who had just given birth to a preemie at less than five pounds. He had already had two back surgeries, in the past, and here was rear-ended. His attitude? It’ll be okay. Was he upset with the young driver? No. He maintained a sense of calm even though he was not really himself at that moment. The lady in the first car? Nearly three decades of driving school buses with nary a scratch on a bus. Her first accident. She was in a brand new car, and the bumper had just a blivet on the bumper from a license plate bolt. She made sure to go to the young driver and encourage her, and remind her that life is filled with lessons.

As we go through life, we make choices in how we respond. Those choices are made based on our beliefs and our worldview. If we have a firm foundation, if we are certain of our future, the craziness that we all face becomes less crazy. The curveballs fly a bit straighter. The load we bear is somehow lessened. My prayer and hope is that I become more and more able to respond in love, in kindness, and in faith when I face these situations. May this be your prayer as well.

Most of us have heard of “The Lord’s Prayer.”  Millions of people around the world can recite it from memory.  In our recitations, we take comfort in the words as those given by God’s Son, for His disciples.

As a youngster, as we learn, we often accept the tutelage of our parents.  Let’s read this passage, and try to say it all by ourselves!  You can do it!  Here, let’s review together.  That’s right…”who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name…” Mommy, what does “hallowed” mean?  Daddy, where is heaven?  Even without our understanding, we can and do remember these words, for years to come.

And so, in our memorization, we glibly restate one of the several pleas made to our Father…”lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” We say it.  We trust that the Father would not lead us into temptation.  Why would we want to ask the Father not to lead us into temptation?

In a logical view of the phrase, one could imagine the opposite plea, to be led into temptation.  Obviously this prayer request makes no sense at all.  We wouldn’t ask the Father to move us into a place of temptation.  In fact, the Bible teaches us exactly what temptation is.  It’s a pretty simple definition, and worthy of our attention.

Temptation is usually thought to be a place, a person, or a thing that is attractive in some way, yet a place, person or thing that will ultimately harm us.  We can look at the first book of the Bible to learn of the temptation of Eve.  Here, Eve sees the fruit of a tree forbidden to eat, and of course, takes a fateful bite.  We we read of Eve’s decision, we read that Eve “saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom.”  Truly, the fruit appears to be the temptation.

But, before Eve makes her decision to eat the fruit, we can read the real temptation Eve faced…she is told if she eats the fruit, “you will be like God.”  Wow!  I can be like God?  One can only imagine…and in fact, we’ve all likely laughed at the movie Bruce Almighty where an unsuspecting TV reporter does become like God.  Bruce, having the joy of being able to do whatever he wants, gives us all the perfect view of ultimate power in the hands of the everyman.  It’s not pretty.

Temptation.  What is it?  Looking at a passage written some years after the Lord’s Prayer, we read that “each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.”  This is temptation.  This is all it is.  Desire that drags us away.  Desire that entices us.  Temptation is desire.  Our own desire.

It’s hard to believe.  It’s hard to accept.  Our temptations are not fruit growing on a tree, in a garden, available to us whenever we walk through it.  Our temptations are not fruit that would sustain us physically, as apples or oranges do.  Our temptations are not fruit that would give us wisdom, as avocados and blueberries can do.  Our temptations are simply our desires, and ultimately, our desire to be like God, in His ultimate power and dominion over all creation.

And in the prayer that our Lord taught us, that phrase “lead us not into temptation” now has new meaning.  In a way, it is the same meaning as the phrase “thy Kingdom come.”  Our Lord taught us that the Kingdom was not earthly–not a renaissance of the nation of Israel.  In fact, God’s Kingdom is clearly described as being inside us.  It is the relationship we have with God, His kingship over our lives.  That Kingdom, His Kingdom, is a place without temptation!  It is a relationship free from temptation, as our desires are replaced by His!

We read that we are to pray “lead us not into temptation.”  Truly, a relationship with our Father can free us from temptation.  So why do we pray “lead us?”  If we take the meaning that our Father would be at the front of the line, and heading in the right direction, we are once again curious as to why we would pray something so obvious.  Of course our Father would go in the best direction.  We can even read about our Father leading the nation of Israel in a trackless desert with a pillar of fire at night and a column of smoke during the day.  Is this the leading we ask of our Father?

Looking once again at the destination, it appears more likely that “lead us” has a much deeper meaning.  If our Father leads us “not into temptation” He is not leading us to a place.  He is not leading us to something that will feed us and sustain us.  He is not leading us to knowledge of good and evil.  Since temptation is by definition our own evil desires, our Father is leading us away from these!  Our Father is leading us…to Himself!

And so we can see why our Lord asked us to pray “lead us not into temptation.”  Father, show us Your desires!  Father, replace our desires with Yours!  Father, bring us to You!  Father, lead us, not into temptation.

In reading Genesis, we encounter many incredible passages. The recounting of the lives of the patriarchs and their families is often more intriguing than the stories created for modern soap operas or reality TV shows.  Reading of Isaac, his wives, and his sons we find ourselves drawn into a brother vs brother conflict as old as, well, as old as Genesis!

In years past, a beautiful young maiden was chosen to be Isaac’s bride, as an answer to the prayer of Abraham’s servant who had been sent to find a worthy woman.  Now, in a society valuing above all else a woman’s ability to bring forth sons, she faces despair as she is childless.  You can imagine how she felt, knowing from the time of her engagement that she was the Lord’s choice for her husband, yet she remains childless.

Rebekah’s husband Isaac prayed for his wife, relying on God to provide children for them, and in another answer to prayer, Rebekah becomes pregnant.  Isaac married Rebekah at 40 years of age, but waited for twenty years before Rebekah became pregnant.  During the pregnancy, unusual physical sensations led Rebekah to ask the Lord for understanding, and in His answer, the Lord revealed that two children were inside her womb.

In His answer, more information than the medical diagnosis also was revealed.  In a few sentences, Rebekah learns that she is carrying two boys, that the boys would be fathers of two separate peoples, and that the older would serve the younger.  Think of today, where families visit medical doctors and learn of many wonderful things about the baby inside…gender, size, due date, and health.  Even with sonograms, computers and medical tests today’s mothers don’t know the future as well as Rebekah did.

Two more different brothers could not be found.  Appearance, voice, size, skills, and occupations were completely opposite.  As we think about the story, we can visualize what life might have been like for Isaac.  One son, a fearsome hunter, capable with weapons, able to sustain himself in the harsh wilderness would likely be a source of pride.  The second son, preferring to stay in the camp with the women, might be introduced as if he were not even a relative, perhaps even with some embarrassment. For Rebekah, having one son remain in the camp, learning from her, and treasuring time together would have been incredibly rewarding.  Rarely seeing her older son, her heart would be saddened as he returned with the bounty of the field.  Years of this upbringing have created an uneasy family tension between parents, between father and sons, and between brothers.

In that difficult family dynamic, we can see an arrangement that probably kept the family together over the years.  The older brother prefers to work outside the camp, providing for the camp by hunting wild game, yet relying on the camp for a base of operations.  The younger brother stays in the safe area, learning and becoming proficient at the skills of women, benefiting everyone there.  But, he in turn enjoys the bounty brought in from the outside.  One might call this a “win-win” situation, and from the outside, it appears that all is well.

Anyone who has hunted wild game has often been unsuccessful, and at the end of the day, returned home completely whipped.  Even when game is harvested, the effort takes so much out of the hunter that he collapses at the door, just glad to have made it back. Modern hunters feel great empathy for the older brother, and also understand what it is like to have someone at home making a delicious meal as a welcome back gesture. Today driving our 1/2 ton pickup trucks through the suburbs after hours in the field, we can’t smell the welcome aromas of the camp kitchen, but the older brother might have sensed the satisfying smells of a wood fire and fragrant food for a half-mile or more.  Think of how he must have felt, trudging one foot in front of another, just trying to make it there, guided in part by the smoke and the smell.

In a moment of utter exhaustion, after much time in the field, the older son demands of the younger a portion of this hearty stew.  If we quickly read the story, without pause, it is possible to overlook details of the event that were obvious to those of the culture. Instead of willingly providing a brother in need with what is obviously necessary, the younger demands something in return. Instead of asking for something tangible, like the best portion of the next successful hunt, he asks for legal standing in the family order. Instead of trusting the brother’s response, he demands a contract, an obligation, a binding oral agreement.  Obviously this family is fractured, and is only remaining together out of necessity and tradition.  The “win-win” arrangement here shows a lack of love, a lack of trust, and the lack of brotherhood.

We read next “So Esau despised his birthright.”  The story ends with a sentence so short, we can take it to be both the climax of the tale, as well as the most valuable observation.  In the oral tradition of the time, those hearing this might have covered their mouth in shock, and began to whisper “can you believe this?”  Why does the story end so?

Most of those listening would not have a birthright, and would also have enjoyed having this valuable asset.  The value of the birthright at this time was two–as in two for one. When the father died, two of everything would be given to the older, with only one of those going to the younger.  Two goats for one.  Two sheep for one.  Two chickens for one.  The older would receive double the property of the younger.  Today, in our last wills and testaments, the language often reads that property is divided equally between children. Not so in this time and place.

And in this shocking moment, where something of great value was sold for the price of a McDonald’s value meal, we see the obvious practical advice.  Don’t allow yourself to get overtired.  Don’t push so hard that you run out of energy. Don’t work so hard that your judgment is impaired.  Don’t agree on something without taking time to think about it. Don’t sell your birthright! Ever!

To be sure, this practical advice has some benefit.  As we think about the outcome of the story, it is possible to see greater principles, as we consider different ways these brothers might have lived.  Rather than living apart, could they have lived in harmony? Instead of becoming proficient in different professions, could they have shared in each other’s tasks?  In place of time primarily spent with one parent, could they have sought to fellowship with both father and mother?

God has, in giving us a family, and siblings, a way to become as He desires us to be.  Let us remember that this journey of discovery of self can be ever more fulfilling when we put aside our selfish nature and share.  Share in life’s hardships.  Share in life’s leisure. Share life in love.

As many people read the account of the flood, found in Genesis chapters 6 through 9, they focus on the technical details of a huge boat and the nature of the deluge. They wonder how a boat of a given size could be built, by someone who never made one. They puzzle over the number of animals, the need for animal food, and of course, where the animal waste went. There are many seemingly logical questions.

As I reread the passage today, I realized that the message is not in the details of the event, but in the beginning and ending verses. God saw man, now evil in every way, and decided to end humanity in His justice.  After the flood, as Noah sacrificed to Him, God saw man look to Him in worship. Independent of man’s acts, He decided to maintain the earth in His mercy.

In the account, what is more important is that God is revealed to us! It is not the ark, not the animals, not the flood. God is holy and just, but most importantly, merciful. We see ourselves as by nature evil, sinners, and even though redeemed, likely to sin again.  God is shown to be eternal, powerful, inspiring, righteous, just, and forbearing.

As we read the flood account, let us focus on God and His nature, rather than on the story of the ark, its size, the animals, and the water. Let us rejoice that God has granted us a brief moment on earth to enjoy fellowship with each other and to worship Him.