reposted: Family in the Bible

"By contrast, the Bible actually teaches a radically subversive message about the family. God, we often discover, is the cause of barrenness in women. Stories of family dynamics rarely flatter. You'll never find a Leave it to Beaver household in the Bible. Rather, we see constant distress, rivalry, and jealousy. Usually this dynamic doesn't result from undervaluing children. No, we see it when children become the most important thing! Not only that, Jesus also has some deeply alarming things to say about the family, sounding almost cold and uncaring---see Mark 3:31-35 and Luke 14:26.

And finally, it's difficult to make family the most central thing for Christians when the two most prominent figures in the New Testament, Jesus and the apostle Paul, were both single. Actually, Christianity made singleness a legitimate way of life for the first time in any culture or religion."

An excerpt from this post by John Starke.

selection from On the Imitation of Christ

READING THE HOLY SCRIPTURE

    Truth, not eloquence, is to be sought in reading the Holy Scriptures; and every part must be read in the spirit in which it was written. For in the Scriptures we ought to seek profit rather than polished diction.

    Likewise we ought to read simple and devout books as willingly as learned and profound ones. We ought not to be swayed by the authority of the writer, whether he be a great literary light or an insignificant person, but by the love of simple truth. We ought not to ask who is speaking, but mark what is said. Men pass away, but the truth of the Lord remains forever. God speaks to us in many ways without regard for persons.

    Our curiosity often impedes our reading of the Scriptures, when we wish to understand and mull over what we ought simply to read and pass by.

    If you would profit from it, therefore, read with humility, simplicity, and faith, and never seek a reputation for being learned. Seek willingly and listen attentively to the words of the saints; do not be displeased with the sayings of the ancients, for they were not made without purpose.

fallible words

And from my studies...

But as it was not by telling men about God that Christ convinced men that somewhere there existed a holy God who cared for them, but by showing God’s holiness and love present to them in His own person, so our words may fail to accomplish much if our life does not reveal a presence men cannot but recognise as Divine. It was by being one with the Father Christ revealed Him; it was the Father’s will His life exhibited. And the extension of this to the whole world of men is the utmost of Christ’s desire. All will be accomplished when all men are one, even as Christ and the Father are already one.

Dods, Marcus; Nicoll, W. Robertson (2011-03-24). The Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St John, Vol. II (Kindle Locations 2771-2776). Kindle Edition. (emphasis mine)

from A Meal with Jesus - Tim Chester

I am slowly working my way through Tim Chester's book, A Meal with Jesus.  It is a useful book from which I think many  people would find benefit in learning how to share their lives with others as Jesus shared His with us.  Below are a couple of quotes that particularly impacted my thinking today:

The effect of this ritual cleansing was not only to create boundaries with Gentiles, but also with the poor. The religious elite had created a system of moral respectability that only the wealthy could ever hope to maintain. Only the rich had the time and money to do all the required ritual cleansing. You can’t be ritually clean in a slum. This was bourgeois spirituality. We can do this too. Our expectations of clothing, behavior, literacy, and punctuality can exclude the poor.

...

But we can’t condemn these things at a distance. That’s legalism. We must come alongside, proclaiming and demonstrating the transforming grace of God.

...

Suddenly it isn’t uncleanness that’s contagious. That’s how it was in the old Levitical system. If you touched anything unclean, you became unclean. But with Jesus it’s his holiness that’s contagious.

Chester, Tim (2011-04-05). A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, and Mission around the Table (Re:Lit) (Kindle Locations 278-282, 288-289, 332-334). Good News Publishers/Crossway Books. Kindle Edition. (Emphasis mine)