It's hard to accept, isn't it?
Dependence is a challenge to most people, and has been since before the fall. Yes, before--the sin of Adam and Eve was an act of rebellion, and as such, of independence. The word "Independent" has become a word of strong praise in this country, because of an incident involving two men named George--one a king of England, and the other a Virginian aristocrat. Our country was founded on independence, and so dependence does not come easily. But this cannot be merely the fault of the US; Independence is a common theme in most capitalist states, at the very least.
"And? What's so wrong about Independence, after all? Surely it's better to lead your own life than to follow somebody else. After all, we were given free will by God." As it stands, I believe that this argument is absolutely right. The problem with independence from Man is that it leads, in people's minds, to independence from God. Good luck with that.
Dependence, according to the dictionary, is reliance, or trust. The Bible has a lot to say about trusting God. At the beginning of this sermon I quoted Proverbs 3:5, Luke 9:23, and John 14:6. These are only three of many verses on the subject. The book of Job can be described as a story of dependence on God. The history of Israeli and Judaean monarchy (also known as the books of First Samuel through Second Chronicles) show the ways that dependence on God can help a country, as well as the ways that its lack can hurt it. Psalm 23 is an astonishing example of trust in God. The Bible also gives promises to those who trust God; for example, Isaiah 26:3 says to God "You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You." Psalm 9:10 states that "you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you." In Matthew 6:28-30 Jesus asks "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" There are many more such examples, but all have one theme in common: Trust God, and He will bless you. It may be hard, It may be near impossible, but it is worth any cost.
Great message, awesome use of verses. I don't really have much to critique, actually. The only thing is referencing back to last Saturday when we were talking about trying to look at your notes as little as possible. If you were to speak this you'd probably want to format this differently. But, this is great!
ReplyDeleteokay. since i am your brother i am going to get right to the good part...uh...i mean the the critique. first i don't actually think that Adam's and Eve's independence happened BEFORE their fall. i think that they fell as soon as they thought about being independent. that's when sin entered their hearts. i also think that you should not have written that independence from man leads to independence from God. but i did like the scripture references and the very beginning. good job. :)
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