Thought for Today
Genesis 3:11 He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"
Genesis 4:8 Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out to the field." And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him.
Luke 10:27 He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
Luke 16:13 No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."
I’m still wondering today whether or not 2026 will be The year. 2026 is still rife with potential. It’s not too late to make this year The year. But, this year, like every year since Adam and Eve listened to that @#$%& serpent, we will be faced with choices. Adam and Eve made a choice. Cain made a choice. Both times, the wrong choice was made.
I’ve mentioned before the pewter plaque residing on my dresser. It has inscribed on it, “Joshua 24:15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Those Israelites were being called to make a choice.
In all the intervening years, has the basic choice really, truly changed? Certainly, the worlds in which Adam, Eve, Cain, Joshua and all of our ancestors-in-the-faith lived were much different than the world of 2026. The particulars of the choices we will be called to make in 2026 will vary greatly from the particulars of the choices they were called to make. None of us currently live in the Garden of Eden. Neither New England nor Texas are that garden. Irrespective of one’s locale, it is not the Garden of Eden.
None of the socio-economic conditions of our world in 2026 mirror the socio-economic conditions represented in our Bible. The technologies of the 20th and 21st centuries would have been inconceivable to Adam, Eve, Cain, Joshua and all of our ancestors-in-the-faith. Think how you could possibly have described airplanes, computers, smartphones or any of our ubiquitous technologies to Moses. But, the choices we are called to make in 2026 are essentially the same choices they were called to make.
It may be easier for some of you to think of in terms of the theme song of the 1984 movie Ghostbusters with the ‘punchline’ of its eponymous theme song, "Who ya gonna call?" (en.wikipedia.org) That question is the ultimate question Adam, Eve, Cain, Joshua and all of our ancestors-in-the-faith faced. That question is the question we will all face in 2026, just as did they.
When Moses led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, God gave them the 10 Commandments. When their descendants tried to trap Jesus into heresy by asking him which of the 10 was most important, Jesus rephrased the entire issue into “Luke 10:27 ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’"
In 2026, as we face the inevitable issues which we know will arise, when we are called upon to choose whom we will serve, when we are asked, "Who ya gonna call?" we need to remember Jesus’ words. If we choose the path of loving God and loving our neighbor, 2026 can truly be The year. Of course, there is always that tricky issue of "Luke 10:29 And who is my neighbor?" That question when asked to Jesus prompted the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
2026’s slate is still (relatively) clean. Very little has been written so far. What will be written will depend on ‘who we do call.’ It will depend on whom we do choose to serve. Jesus reminded us, we cannot serve two masters.
Stay safe, choose wisely, trust God,
Pastor Ray