Meat for the Hungry

Candlelight pierces the blackness of night creating a comforting glow in the darkness of heartbreak. The warm flicker of a single candle soothes our soul and symbolizes hope. Hope for a missing child, a killer convicted, a social injustice righted, or that someone somewhere will make sense out of a senseless tragedy. I don’t know when candlelight vigils and memorials first began or even who invented the concept, but I know a feeling of hope washes over us as we gather together with candles. Have you ever wondered why? Not why do we gather, but why do we use candles in the night?

Once again, evil rears its ugly head and we ask why. Why would anyone rig such vicious bombs? The intent was clear. They did it first to slaughter and maim. Bombs exploding at the finish line of the Boston Marathon were sure to take lives and cause optimal damage. What the second reason was we can only hope to learn. But will discovering their motive prevent this type of evil? With citizens and survivors reeling from the bombing, two days later a fertilizer plant explosion blasted Waco, Texas, killing even more. Now in its deafening echo, we see destroyed homes, altered landscape, and people forever changed. As if these two were not enough, we also received reports of dangerous flooding in the Mid West. Tragedy, catastrophe, and natural disaster all in one week and this is only in our country. Daily devastating news from around the world pummels our heart. Pain, sadness and fear secure a stranglehold that only God can break.

Did you watch the History Channel’s mini-series entitled “The Bible”? I wasn’t able to watch while it aired, so I purchased the DVD when it became available. Unfortunately, I wasn’t impressed. The first thing I noticed was their disclaimer to stay true to the spirit of the book, prior to each episode, meaning they would take liberties, using creative license. However, wishing to give them the benefit of the doubt, I watched. I’m only half-way through the episodes and already the errors are too numerous to record. However, before I list the three most disturbing, I will give caution about the unnecessary and gruesome violence. Although violence is in our Bible, Scripture avoids the details and this depiction is not appropriate for children. So here goes:

Did you know God performed the first marriage ceremony? God took one of Adam’s ribs, fashioned a woman and brought her to the man. With great understanding Adam spoke his vows, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” God then pronounced them husband and wife declaring, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” God blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish…birds…and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”