So I've been going "OLD TESTAMENT" in my bible reading lately. It amazes me how little things have really changed. People are still people. We battle the same problems as they did thousands of years ago. Now granted, Abraham didn't have to deal with the frustration of an incredibly slow iPhone, but I never had to deal with camel dung. So I guess we are even.
One thing I do have in common with many of the people I read about in the Old Testament is being a father to boys. One of the most important things to me is the type of men my boys grow up to be. When they were little, all I really cared about was hoping they didn't beat up some kid in the play land at McDonald's, now we talk about things like character, true strength, and.....girls.
I started reading through 1 Samuel where we see the accounts of Eli and Samuel. Eli appears to have been a good man. He was the priest and judge for Israel and very devoted. He had some sons who were....well less than upstanding young men. God rose up Samuel to take their place because of their disobedience. Eventually we see that Samuel had sons with the same problem. The elders of Israel were so afraid of Samuel's sons taking over that they demanded a King, which is a whole other story.
I love the church, I love talking church, I love planning the future of the church and taking care of the things of God...but I've come to realize that the first church I am responsible for is the one called family. If I Pastor those around me and don't Pastor my family, I've really been a failure as a church leader. It's hard to say what Eli or Samuel did wrong, we don't know much about their relationships to their children from scripture, but we do know that they seemed at least somewhat passive about the sins of their own family. I think we learn from the accounts of Eli and Samuel that if we don't pastor our families well, we could end up effecting much more then just ourselves. Maybe even effecting the course of a whole nation!
As a whole I think the church suffers from passive men. Men who have lost the art of protection and fighting for the kingdom of God. I've been that man myself. If we continue to be passive priest's for our families.....I see very little change in our churches and nations.
Looking to be a better pastor to my family this year.
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