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Genesis 1:26-31

 

“Reconnecting with God and Neighbors!”

            I want to start with something funny that I found on an internet site: A father and small son are traveling on a freeway. The boy says he’s hungry and would love to stop for a snack. They see the Golden Arches ahead and pull off the road. The boy sits at one of the tables in the restaurant and the father returns with a bag full of steamy, fresh French fries. The boy’s face brightens with delight! He is hungry. The father sets the fries before the boy and takes his seat opposite him. He loves his son and loves to watch him eat so heartily.

The two sit at the table together while the boy munches away at the snack. Then the dad does what all dads would do. He reaches over and takes one French fry for himself. The little boy snaps at his father, “Dad! These are mine. Why don’t you get your own?” The dad thinks about this incident on the long, silent drive home: I gave my son every fry he had… and all I wanted was one. My son doesn’t understand something. He doesn’t know that I could take all those fries away in an instant. Or, if I felt it best for him, I could add to that bag of fries so abundantly that he’d be overwhelmed by them. He thinks that they are his. How did he forget who bought them and brought them to him?

Have you ever experienced an incident like this with your child or grandchild? What was your reaction? How did you feel about it? I know some adults pretend to take a piece of a child’s snack from the child to see how they react, and then we laugh at their response, whether they allow us to take a piece or not. But the point is made: God has given us our resources and money, and when He asks for a tithe, many of us figuratively slap His hand and say, “Hands off my money.” However, King David’s prayer calls us back to basic truths: “All things come from your hand, and all of it belongs to you” (1 Chronicles 29:16). We should think of the story about the fries to drive that point home.

As we observe February as “Stewardship Month,” today, I want to talk about “Reconnecting with God and neighbors.” We humans are created by God in His image, which means we are allowed to have perfect love and freedom. However, we often choose to use our freedom rather than embracing love, thus drifting away from God, who is the embodiment of  “Love.” Therefore, humanity once faced the Great Flood for forty days. Afterward, the earth was empty once again, resembling its state at the beginning, except for Noah and his family, and a few animals in accordance with God’s plan.

Genesis chapter 9 begins with God’s blessing to Noah and his sons after the Great Flood that lasted for forty days, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” This may sound familiar to us. As I mentioned last Sunday, it is the first stewardship story where God entrusted all of creation to the first humans, Adam and Eve. After the Great Flood, God reiterated this command to Noah and his sons, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”  It is the same Word of God, but it was given in a different situation than that of Adam and Eve. When God entrusted all of creation to Adam and Eve, God had already set the earth and heaven beautifully for them, as Genesis says, “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31a).

However, now, after forty days of floods, there were sprouts of plants, as Noah saw when a dove brought a freshly plucked olive leaf. It was a sign of a new life and hope for them. Then, Noah and his family came out of the ark. As soon as they emerged, Noah built an altar to God and offered burnt offering with clean animals and birds. God accepted his offering and, in His heart, declared, “I will never curse the ground again” (Genesis 8:20-21). Then, God blessed Noah and his family, along with every living creature, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Genesis9:1); “Be fruitful and multiply, abound on the earth and multiply in it” (Genesis9:7). God entrusted all of creation to Noah once again, and established a covenant with Noah, his family, his descendants, and all living creatures, promising, “Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the water of a flood, never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

God emphasized several times, “I have established a covenant” not only with Noah and his family, but also with his descendants and every living creature. God decided by Himself to love humans and all His creation, even though humans were still not good. It is God’s great decision to love human beings unconditionally. Genesis 8:21 says, “I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.” God Himself reconnected with all His creations in love from the bottom of His heart. It was the beginning of God’s unconditional and one-way love story toward humans.

It is not because humans repented their sins, but because God decided by Himself to love us. The covenant God made with Noah was unconditional. God didn’t ask Noah and his family for any conditions to bless them, and said, “as long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22).  This unconditional love of God is still evident through God’s work in the four seasons of spring, summer, fall, and winter, and in the entire universe with the moon, stars, sun, wind, rain, and snow. God grants us all-natural blessings whether we are good or bad; whether we believe in God or not. “God causes sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45) Furthermore, God sent His only Son Jesus Christ, as evidence of His love for every human being: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God’s steadfast and unconditional love continues from Noah to us, as God established the covenant. Love is a decision and a certain action.

Now, it is our turn. We should restore our original love as God allows. It is a decision we should make, and we should practice it through certain actions. The word “Restore” reminds us of the covenant God made with Noah. “Restore” is like God’s “Re-story,” in which God rewrote His love story as unconditional and steadfast love, reconnecting with humans and all of creation.

Let us try to see God’s story, not our own story. If we see our own stories, there is nothing good, nothing hopeful, nothing interesting; perhaps, only suffering, conflicts, unfairness, injustice, weakness, powerlessness, and so on. However, we should lift our sight to see God, as the Psalmist says, “I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalms 121:1-2). Yes, let’s focus on God’s help; let’s see God’s story toward us; let’s focus on God’s story toward our children and grandchildren through us.

When do you feel joy? Perhaps, it is when you see your children and grandchildren happy. God is also happy when we are happy. Let’s intentionally make a decision to love God and one another and try to practice it in everyday life.  Love is to express through actions. Show God how we love our neighbors. God’s love is unconditional. Let’s continue to love God and our neighbors through certain actions, whether they are aware of our love toward them or not. Let’s create more opportunities to love our neighbors through outreach mission work. Perhaps, they may need Jesus more than material help. Let them know that Jesus is the good news for everyone. God bless you. Thanks be to God! Amen.

Posted in Sermons