The First Command?

I'm not exactly sure where the thinking set in within our Western materialistic 'melting pot' American culture, but it seems today that the average American family has 2.6 (1998) people in it.

2.6 people? I assume that means a Dad, a Mom, and .6 children. What is .6 children, exactly? Well, of course, you statisticians and math majors out there would be quick to remind me that these figures would easily break down and reveal the details of family life that contain whole people in families, most of which have 1 child. (To see the 'recent de-evolution' of the American family...it can't be evolution since that is supposed to mean "bigger, better, stronger, faster", etc.,...go to this link.

My question is this: just where did we come up with the figure of 1 child (or none as 40% must think) as the "perfect number" for the family? Sounds kind of Communistic to me. Don't get me wrong, I want parents to be responsible and I want kids to be taken care of, and I know that many people struggle to have children of their own (don't worry, God has a plan, and you are involved in it!), but maybe there are more creative ways than we care to think about when we come to this topic?

I remember hearing a couple of people comment on this topic in the last few years which has stuck in my mind. They said something like, "If people kept on having children like the "Bible times" we would have enough room or food!" Room? Has anyone recently looked at a map? Have you ever driven across Wyoming, or Iowa, or Texas? The space is endless, we have more ROOM than we even know what to do with! And food? I am all about feeding the hungry, but most food to third world countries seems to be bound by political chains rather than the people lacking the available nourishment. As technology continues to find more ways to increase plant production, America has to worry more about how much food it wastes rather than "Is there enough?" According to a study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, we waste 96 billion pounds of food in America each year. That turns out to be:

263,013,699 pounds of food wasted each day...
10,958,904 pounds wasted each hour...
182,648 pounds wasted each minute...
3,044 pounds of food wasted in America each second!

I'm not sure those two "commonly used" arguments have much weight. So why the .6? Please, understand that I know some would love children. I also know what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7 and elswhere, where he states that some people are going to be single and will not have children, and that is God's plan for them. But I'm not talking about the minority here, I am talking about the majority of those on God's green earth.

And speaking of "Biblical times", how many people were around during the 1,600 years or so after Creation before the world-wide flood in the days of Noah? (Gen. 6-8; 2 Peter 3:5-6) It has been roughly estimated anywhere from the ultra-conservative 235 million to 6.5 billion or more. For a concise article on this,see this.. For another interesting article on this, longer and possibly not as reliable,see this.

I wonder what Adam's ancestors would have thought had he had only .6 children? (ok, let's round up to 1, which doesn't even get us anywhere since you need 2 to make another...see the problem...and yes, brother married sister, the "do not marry" rule did not occur until the days of Leviticus when our DNA became more and more infiltrated with bad mutations after over 2,000 years of 'copying'...copy your VHS 2,000 times over and throwing out the original each time and see how long it takes to get 'snow' in the picture!) Do you know how long it would take to "fill the earth" as God had commanded with no grandchildren?! This was His first command to the man made in His Image. He said:

ESV Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (again, math majors, knowing that the parents will eventually die, doesn't that put the family "2 in the hole", which means that having 2 kids is 'replacement', 3 kids 'addition', while 4 or more is to 'multiply'? Just a thought.)

But do you know what's really interesting, other than those being the first words of God to the first man and woman He created (in mature form, of course), is what God said to His creations just before the people He made in His image:

ESV Genesis 1:21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."

Most of us know what happened on day (24 hour periods of time) 5...He created the water animals and the birds, according to their kinds (see an Answers In Genesis' article for a good working definition of "kinds" like this or this or a semi-technical article on a fairly new brand of research called baraminology here. Then He blessed them saying be fruitful, multiply, fill. Do you know that these creatures usually do not have .6 offspring. Think about it, how many offspring do birds usually have? One egg?

We had a Chickadee couple in the tin roof of the back door overhang at our vicarage house. They found a really interesting spot to mate, free from many predators. The only problem was the entrance/exit. It was very tough for the kids. See, Mom and Dad would fly straight North from a perched spot into a hole in the siding covering the bottom of the overhang. For a small baby bird, this was not only tough, it was really tough. We found that the parents did not only like their spot, they were adamate that de-evolution was NOT taking place in their 'kind'...see, of the first 2 "litters", I picked up 2-3 dead babies. But that didn't stop them. They had more by the time we were on our way out of that house. That's just one summer! It seems that these birds only need a matter of about 7 weeks to disperse, only 5 weeks from the time the eggs are laid. The nests generally range from 5-10 eggs at one time. That could produce up to 30 birds in one season (and we could probably suggest that a more southern place would allow for more time).

I know, the whale typically only has one or, at most, two at a time. But they also bear 'after their kind' every year once reaching maturity. I don't think we should necessarily be 'chickadees' at 10 at a time or anything, I am just wondering where .6 came from? Why, after many wonderful years of marriage, do many people decide that 1 is all its gonna be? Again, I know some people have trouble having children, and their time may not be now. God can do all things, and he may have a plan of adoption for some people as well. Remember, we are in the business of Redeeming, just like our Savior.

But I'm not talking about those exceptions. I'm speaking about the majority who can and do (or do not) have children. Why .6?

Once, when the world's population was depleated to 8 (Noah and his family), God gave a similar command:

ESV Genesis 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

The earth is NOT full! (See links above) Besides, God also promises more:

ESV Psalm 127:3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. 5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. (for all you NIV lovers out there, the BDB [Hebrew Dictionary] says Psalm 127:3 referrs to both sexes=children, just for discussion purposes)

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior...blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! Hey, I not only believe this, I'm a part of it! My oldest son, Thomas, who is not very old, has been very quick to come to the aid of Mommy and Daddy after the birth of these new babies. He has done so many things, from keeping Josiah 'in the fold', to reminding Daddy that 'we need to get back to the hospital to help Mommy and the babies', to holding them, telling them he loves them, and even helping to push their cart down the hall. He covers them with blankets and comforts them with good words. He speaks of helping us take care of them and feed them, and he even made Daddy put the baby car seats in the van before we went to the hospital, three days before we needed them!

I'm not saying that we haven't prompted him on some of these things, but helping him understand and see what it means to be a big brother and love his younger brothers and sister is part of our job as well.

'Blessed is the man whose quiver is full' continues to ring in my mind and heart. I must also notice that this particular psalm does not seem to only indicate biological children. It does seem to speak towards the womb of the biological parents, but it doesn't rule out children that come from non-biological wombs. A child from another womb, needing a Mother and Father, can be just as much a blessing as the biological children, and equally just as blessed.

So, don't be bashful. Take care of business on ALL areas of life, especially the ones backed up by promises from the Creator and Sustainer of ALL THINGS...and don't forget, North Dakota, Wyoming, etc., are very UNpopulated. If you want to know for sure, check out this and check out the 1990 Population Density in the United States for a "night-time" satellite map of America. The white specs are the glows of "life" (not counting the Amish, of course...they're sleeping with no lights on in their communities, so we can rule them out of this mapping). Let me just say: there's a lot of black out there to FILL. I know how evangelism could get better: enlist and train more soldiers!

May God bless you as you have and teach your children about their Father, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.

ESV Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

God's workers

I have recently lost a couple of good friends here at seminary. Both have felt guilty for leaving, in one respect or another. I don't know if their personal guilt is something they should feel or not, but I can be sure of this: If people are feeling guilty for not participating in God's work by leaving seminary, we have done a very poor job of helping them see what God's work really is, because it is not limited to seminary training, the pastoral office, or out-of-the-country missionary work.

I have appreciated the outlook of Nancy Pearcey, who put it this way:

From Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey

(p. 34-35) "Thinking Christianly" means understanding that Christianity gives the truth about the whole of reality, a perspective for interpreting every subject matter. Genesis tells us that God spoke the entire universe into being with His Word - what John 1:1 call the Logos. The Greek word means not only Word but also reason or rationality, and the ancient Stoics used it to mean the rational structure of the universe. Thus, the underlying structure of the entire universe reflects the mind of the Creator. There is no fact/value dichotomy in the scriptural account. Nothing has an autonomous or independent identity, separate from the will of the Creator. As a result, all creation must be interpreted in light of its relationship to God. In any subject area we study, we are discovering the laws or creation ordinances by which God structured the world.

As Scripture puts it, the universe speaks of God - "the heavens declare the glory of God" (Ps. 19:1) - because His character is reflected in the things He has made. This is sometimes referred to as "general" revelation because it speaks to everyone at all times, in contrast to the "special" revealtion given in the Bible. As Jonathan Edwards explained, God communicates not only "by his voice to us in the Scriptures" but also in creation and in historical events. Indeed, "the whole creation of God preaches." Yet it is possible for Christians to be deaf and blind to the message of general revelation, and part of leaning to have the mind of Christ involves praying for the spiritual sensitivity to "hear" the preaching of creation.

The great historian of religion Martin Marty once said every religion serves two functions: First, it is a message of personal salvation, telling us how to get right with God; and second, it is a lens for interpreting the world. Historically, evangelicals have been good at the first function - at "saving souls." But they have not been nearly as good at helping people to interpret the world around them - at providing a set of interrelated concepts that function as a lens to give a biblical view of areas like science, politics, economics, or bioethics. As Marty puts it, evangelicals have typically "accented personal piety and individual salvation, leaving men to their own devices to interpret the world around them."

In fact, many no longer think it’s even the function of Christianity to provide an interpretation of the world. Marty calls this the Modern Schism (in a book by that title), and he says we are living in the first time in history where Christianity has been boxed into the private sphere and has largely stopped speaking to the public sphere.

"This internalization or privatization of religion is one of the most momentous changes that has ever taken place in Christendom," writes another historian, Sidney Mead. As a result, our lives are often fractured and fragmented, with our faith firmly locked into the private realm of church and family, where it rarely has a chance to inform our life and work in the public realm. The aura of worship dissipates after Sunday, and we unconsciously absorb secular attitudes the rest of the week. We inhabit two separate "worlds," navigating a sharp divide between our religious life and ordinary life.

BIBLE SCHOOL DROP-OUTS

At the same time, most believers find this highly frustrating. We really want to integrate our faith into every aspect of life, including our profession. We want to be whole people - people of integrity (the word comes from the Latin word for "whole"). Not long ago, I met a recent convert who was agonizing over how to apply his newfound faith to his work as an art teacher. "I want my whole life to reflect my relationship with God," he told me. "I don’t want my faith to be in one compartment and my art in another."

We would all agree with Dorothy Sayers, who said that if religion does not speak to our work lives, then it has nothing to say about what we do with the vast majority of our time - and no wonder people say religion is irrelevant! "How can anyone remain interested in a religion which seems to have no concern with nine-tenths of his life?"

In the secular/sacred dualism, ordinary work is actually denigrated, while church work is elevated as more valuable. In his book Roaring Lambs, Bob Briner describes his student days at a Christian college, where the unspoken assumption was that the only way to really serve God was in full-time Christian work. Already knowing that he wanted a career in sports management, Briner writes, "I felt I was a sort of second-class campus citizen. My classmates who were preparing for the pulpit ministry or missionary service were the ones who were treated as if they would be doing the real work of the church. The rest of us were the supporting cast."

The underlying message was that people in ordinary professions might contribute their prayers and financial support, but that was about it. "Almost nothing in my church or collegiate experiences presented possibilities for a dynamic, involved Christian life outside the professional ministry," Briner concludes. "You heard about being salt and light, but no one told you how to do it." Lip service was paid to the idea of dedicating your work to God, but all it seemed to mean was, Do your best, and don’t commit any obvious sins.

The same secular/sacred dualism nearly snuffed out the creative talents of the founders of the whimsically funny Veggie Tales videos. Phil Vischer says he always knew he wanted to make movies, but "the implicit message I received growing up was that full-time ministry was the only valid Christian service. Young Christians were to aspire to be either ministers or missionaries." So he dutifully packed his bags and went off to Bible college to study for the ministry.

Yet the more he saw the powerful influence movies have on kids, the more he thought it was important to produce high-quality films. Finally he made up his mind: "I figured God could use a filmmaker or two, regardless of what anyone else said." Dropping out of Bible college he and his friend Mike Nawrocki started a video company. As their former classmates turned into pastors and youth ministers, they turned into the voices of Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber. The videos have become immensely popular, with their biblical messages and quirky humor. Yet if these two Bible school drop-outs had not broken free from the secular/sacred mentality and decided that Christians have a valid calling in the field of filmmaking, their talents may well have been lost to the church. Every member of the Body of Christ has been gifted for the benefit of the whole, and when those gifts are suppressed, we all lose out.

The pervasiveness of the secular/sacred split is less surprising when we realize that many pastors and teachers have absorbed it themselves. A school superintendent once told me that most educators define "a Christian teacher" strictly in terms of personal behavior: things like setting a good example and showing concern for students. Almost none define it in terms of conveying a biblical worldview on the subjects they teach, whether literature, science, social studies, or the arts. In other words, they are concerned about being a Christian in their work, but they don’t think in terms of having a biblical framework on their work.

(p. 65-66) How do we break free from the dichotomies that limit God’s power in our lives? How can love and service to God become living sparks that light up our whole lives? By discovering a worldview perspective that unifies both secular and sacred, public and private, within a single framework. By understanding that all honest work and creative enterprise can be a valid calling from the Lord. And by realizing there are biblical principles that apply to every field of work. These insights will fill us with new purpose, and we will begin to experience the joy that comes from relating to God in and through every dimension of our lives.

We are all part of God's plan and part of his work on this world. Sure, being a pastor can be a great way to be a part of that, but so can any other job which fulfills a needed part of the community. Hear what Luther says on the subject:

"Your work is a very sacred matter. God delights in it, and through it He wants to bestow His blessing on you. This praise of work should be inscribed on all tools, on the forehead and the face that sweat from toiling. For the world does not consider labor a blessing. Therefore it flees and hates it....But the pious, who fear the Lord, labor with a ready and cheerful heart; for they know God's command and will. Thus a pious farmer sees this verse written on his wagon and plow, a cobbler sees it on his leather and awl, and laborer sees it on wood and iron: "Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee." The world inverts the thought and says: Miserable shalt thou be, and it shall not be well with thee; for these things must forever be endured and borne. But happy are those who lead a life of leisure and without labor have the wherewithal to live. ("What Luther Says", p. 1493)

Luther says also that our work is "his mask" in the world, where God chooses to hide himself and do everything. It is not as if God needs us, but for some reason, he chooses to use us to do much work. Think of Gideon, who took the field with the Midianites. Could God have defeated them without the Israelites? Of course, and yet He chose to have Gideon and his army involved in order to work through them and with them.

Luther also says: To put it briefly, God wants people to work. If you did not farm or work, you would have to lie behind the stove a long time in order to have anything given to you. It is true, of course, that God could support you without work, could let fried and boiled foods, corn, and wine grow on the table for you. But He will not do this. He wants you to work and to use your reason in this matter.

This also applies to preaching and to all other things. He gives us wool, letting it grow for us on the sheep. But the wool is not immediately converted into cloth. We must work it up to make cloth of it. When the cloth is there, it does not promptly become a coat. First the tailor must make it. And so on; in everything God acts in such a way that He will provide, but we should work." ("What Luther Says", p. 1495)

That is exactly what the priesthood of all believers is: God working in and through us in all things (1 Peter 2:5, 9-10; Exodus 19:6; Rev. 1:6; 5:10).

So, in everything, what we do and why is an important question to ask, which is why we should take everything to His Word in our daily work, whether it is as husband, wife, father, friend, pastor, secretary or garbageman, for all of these things are God's hand when done correctly. As 2 Cor. makes clear...

NIV 2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (emphasis added)

...we take everything to Christ and His Word (Scripture), redeeming everything to His glory and praise. This is our task. Total Truth will help you see that, as will a good leader in the faith. Praise God for his work in and through our lives, and may God bless us as we seek to be His ambassadors in ALL areas of our lives.

So, what are you here for? With about 6,000 years of history in the bank, why are you here now? With billions upon billions of people before you, why do you exist at this moment? What has God been training you for in the last year, five years, even your whole life? What will he train you for in the future? As we prepare to live godly lives in our whole life, may God bless our hearts, minds and hands to be HIS when He brings eternally significant opportunities to our feet.