Reflections on Genesis

This weekend I was able to attend a wonderful retreat in Seattle.  The subject was Family Life Lessons in Genesis and I thought the message was quite powerful.  Although I can’t sum up quickly what we learned in the period of 5 hours, I thought I’d share with you some dominant things I am thinking about from this study. 

From Adam and Eve:  God created Eve to be with Adam.  God could have just given Adam an animal companion but instead He chose to give Eve as Adam’s family. Likewise, in the Kingdom we will be part of God’s family so we need to interact with that family now.  Although it may be difficult for us to get along with certain people, God is using those family interactions to teach us how to be part of His family.

From Cain and Abel:  We know that Cain made a mistake in his offering to God, but instead of humbling himself upon his mistake, he became angry with God and Abel, who had done the right thing.  We must learn from our mistakes instead of letting them become the grounds for us walking away from God in bitterness.  Also note that, like Abel, we can’t fix our brothers and sisters, but we can be patient and kind with them hoping that they will choose the right path.

From Abraham and Sarah:  There is a lot to learn about marriage relationships from what we see of Abraham and Sarah.  For example, notice how Abraham discussed with Sarah the matter of having children though their servant, Hagar.  When the plan they made to have Hagar conceive Ishmael as a son to Abraham went wrong, Abraham doesn’t point the finger of blame at Sarah, but rather realizes that they  needed to find a solution together.  Likewise, in our marriages, we must be slow to point the blaming finger and instead focus on finding the best solution for our family.

From Joseph:  The speaker very aptly summed up Joseph’s motto in life as: Who Can I Help Save?  Despite all the wrong his brothers did to him, Joseph focuses on their salvation instead of his own anger.  Focusing on the salvation of others can take away our anger towards them.  We should always be looking for who we can help save. 

There are so many more things I wish I could share with you, but these our the points I love the most.  Hope you are having a wonderful day!