2-11-2022

 Good Morning All,

Proverbs 14:4; “Where no oxen are, the manger is clean, but much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.”

     So, what does this mean? It does not, as it appears, have anything to do with any type of farm animal but that is where it starts so we will also. If there are no oxen, there is nothing to clean up. There is no rotten feed to throw away. There is no manure to be pitched out. There are no fences that need to be tended to. So, it is telling us that if you have no oxen; you have no headaches associated with oxen. On the other hand, you do not make any money either. You do not have any of the headaches of an oxen, but you also do not get any of the rewards either.

   Believe it or not, this verse is really about interpersonal relationships.  If you never have a relationship, you never feel the pain that can be associated with relationships. You can avoid any sort of slight or affront.  You miss the hurt of rejection, but you also miss the companionship and the closeness of a relationship. You do miss the pain, but you forfeit so much more by forfeiting the love and the fellowship that these relationships give to us.

    From the very start of the Bible, we see that God is a God of relationships. Part of the reason that God created man was so that God and man would have a loving relationship. God created Eve so that Adam would have companionship. Man and woman were created to be in a loving relationship.  We have seen this truth reinforced over the last couple of years as we have had “distance” relationships and we quickly came to see that they are not the same as real relationships. We even see that Jesus came to the world to reconcile man back to God; to fix our broken relationship.

    The painful truth is that you and I are messy. We all bring baggage, insecurities, quirks, and some frailties to a relationship. The only way to avoid this is to never engage in a relationship but this is not God’s plan. Yet, we would then miss the happiness and satisfaction of a loving, caring relationship that God wants us to have. God’s wants his people to be a family; joined together as a loving unit. Yet God’s grace shows through in the joy we experience when we are in relationships. The joy of the love we receive from a child, or siblings or a spouse is far beyond any discomfort we may experience along the way. This is part of God’s blessing so that we do not have to go through life alone but rather we can go through life, the good and the bad, with people who love us even if they made the manger dirty; God uses them to bring us his love.

Dearest Father, you give us the gift of companionship so that we may face this world with the love and support of our brothers and sisters in Christ. So that we can stand together, comfort each other and bring care to each other. We give you thanks for those around us who love us as we are. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace

Pastor Bret