Good Morning All,
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 don’t make
any money either. You don’t have any of
the headaches from 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 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.
God’s wants his people to be a family; joined together as a loving
unit. We are to love, warts and
all! 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. This is to be a small
hint to the love that God has for us. A love that is cleansing and fulfilling.
God loves us with the perfect love to bring us out of the mess and the chaos.
God heals us because he loves us. It is by his mercy that we can try to love,
imperfect as we are. His love knows no end or limits.
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. 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
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