We lack context. In the Church, our government, our society, our marriages and families, context is all too often dismissed or ignored entirely.
Larry and I have an amazing marriage. There is no one on earth I would rather have a long discussion with than my husband. The subject doesn't matter. Our combined passions and giftings create an environment for new insights and ideas. It's like popping popcorn: the right temperature, an oil that can take the heat and nice, dry kernels...pop, pop, pop! God sure knew what He was doing when He brought the two of us together!
One of the things that has made our marriage strong has been our desire to grasp, appreciate and honor context. Here's an example.
Back when we were dating (although we still date!), we were driving on a snowy Massachusetts night. Larry decided it would be fun to speed up on a hairpin curve, you know, so the back end of the car would spin around. It's a guy thing! Anyway, I burst into tears and began sobbing uncontrollably. He felt terrible! I explained that my fear was due to a car accident I had before meeting him.
Here's the context. It was January and I was in a hurry to get home to pack for a business trip I was taking the next day. The Bedford, MA street department didn't keep the roads as clean as I was accustomed to in Wisconsin and Minnesota. They tended to let it pile up for a while before dealing with it...at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Well, as I took a curve less than a mile from work I hit several inches of slush. Slush and cars? Not a good combo! Thank God no other cars were nearby because I was in for quite an out-of-control ride ending in smacking the rear end of the car into a telephone pole. I was fine, the telephone pole was fine (thank God, or I would have had to replace it at the lofty price of $1,200!), my company car was not fine at all.
What followed can only be described as sad. No one would stop to ask me if I was OK. I tried to flag cars down but people just ignored me. I trudged up to a nearby house and no one would come to the door even though I saw footprints in the snow leading to the door and a car was parked in the garage. I felt so alone and forlorn...the days before the prevalence of cell phones. Finally, out of desperation, I got back in my car, turned around and headed back to work. I was dragging a good bit of the car behind me so it was slow going. Wouldn't you know it was then that a Bedford police officer stopped me? I explained what had happened and where I was intending to go. Since it wasn't far, he escorted me. And filled out an accident report after we arrived.
And as God always does, He made provision for me. A staff member from the department of agriculture was still at our office. He lived even farther out than I did so he was happy to give me a ride home. The snow storm was closing everything down. It was a miracle Jim was still chatting with our legislative director when I returned with my head hanging. God is so good! And the guys had a good laugh when they saw my car!
Once Larry heard the context of my tearful outburst, it made all the difference. In our eighteen years of marriage, has he ever taken corners too fast? Rarely. Has he ever tried to make the tires spin out on snowy roads? Never!
Context makes all the difference.
Scripture should never be taken out of context. 2 Timothy 3:16 says "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." (ESV) Shouldn't we know the context? What was happening at the time the passage was written? Who wrote it? What was God doing? What was He saying? How does the context shed light and revelation on the application of the verse?
Context applies in our government and politics.
I feel very strongly that we must continue to support Israel, at all costs. When we fail to stand with Israel, it will be our undoing as a nation. It all comes down to context. How many people know and/or appreciate the context of our relationship with Israel? Do we know what the Word says? As a nation, do we honor God's heart toward Israel?
I grew up reciting the Pledge of Allegiance every morning at school. We'd stand with our hands on our hearts and face the flag. I didn't fully understand the context of those words then but I sure do now. And there are people who are fiercely determined to remove the Pledge of Allegiance from our schools. Doesn't the context behind those words matter? Or is their offense at God being named completely negate the intent of the Pledge? Sad. Very, very sad.
Do we know our founding fathers and the vision God gave them for our country, our republic? Do we recognize how these men loved, honored and served God? Doesn't history make any difference in Congress or in politics? Just take a look at the world events of the 1930's and 40's and the parallels with today. Frightening! Let's get back to context, people!
Each of us has our own perception of things based on our experiences and what we know to be true (even though it may not be based on Truth). The only way we can have successful marriages, growing relationships with Jesus Christ, a healthy country, and a thriving society is through understanding and appreciating context.
We need sit down and talk, to truly listen and share from our hearts. That starts in our homes and goes all the way to the top of our government. Our founding fathers were against political parties. They worried that political parties would cause divisiveness. You gotta love their wisdom in that! Politics makes my heart sick...so much mistrust, anger and downright hatred. Have we actually tried to have civilized conversations - disregarding party affiliation or lack thereof - to reach acceptable, forward-moving solutions to the issues we face? Or have we become divided to the point of no return?
Context has immense value.
We have to talk! We have to understand the foundations that have been built through experience, trial and error and, most importantly, through God's wisdom and direction.
Engineers do their research before building a bridge. They know the best location, the soil, the average rainfall, how the bridge will be used (trains, vehicles or foot traffic, how many, how heavy, how often, how fast), how best to anchor it and the best resources necessary to accomplish their task. Context means everything because lives depend on it.
Bridges can be built through context.
Bridges to our hearts, our minds, our loyalties, and our passions. Bridges of understanding, respect and honor. Bridges that can withstand the strongest gales and mightiest earthquakes.
Oh sure there are people who try to refute context, to revise it to suit their own desires and agendas. In my opinion, you can't argue with context. We may not like it or even agree with it. It may be ugly and often heartbreaking. But it is what it is. Let's look at it straight on, take in the lessons it has to teach and learn from it.
So, let's build bridges through understanding contexts, shall we?
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