The Bible in 3-D

We moved home to Texas just over 3 years ago to live close to family. Even though we loved our friends and had a strong, loving, Godly community, we firmly believed our there were lessons and callings that could only be taught and imparted by their grandparents. My husband and I are both the youngest in our family – it makes for some interesting “discussions” – and we are blessed to have a deep, Godly heritage on both sides. We felt strongly we were to honor our parents so home we came.

Fast forward to today. We live about 75 feet away from my in-laws. We have almost-weekly Shabbats, we share many meals, our son joins his grandfather for early morning prayer one day a week – life if lived together and it is good. We share a lot of laughter and a few burdens. Life is good.

Approximately 9 months ago, my in-laws started walking through something extremely challenging in their church. It got very ugly very fast. The enemy was having a hay-day and a modern day church split ensued followed by months in the court system.

From day one, my father-in-law has walked in extreme integrity – true to his faith, calm, patient, hopeful. His example astounds me. All those things he preaches – the peace-maker everyone knows him to be – he has lived in the face of bold lies, mud-slinging, pure ugliness, and hate like I’ve never seen from a man that has called himself a “pastor”. This pastor who has lied, has stolen money, and claims he is under authority to no one except God alone led my father-in-law and some Godly men into a journey through the courts that continues today. Even though the pastor lost the first case – with prejudice – he continues to claim himself innocent, even saying today that he didn’t lose the case when court papers show otherwise.

In the beginning of the journey, we shielded our kids from most of it. We kept adult conversations between us and told them ‘edited’ versions. Over the last 9 months, we told them bits and pieces, but were intentional to only speak facts and not negatively of the others involved.

Today was another court hearing and we decided our kids should attend this one. We wanted to show support to my in-laws and the other elders. Plus, we homeschool – what a great field trip! Ha! I needed to work today so off my little crew went.

When they finally got home tonight after their 11 hour day, I asked my kids about their experience today. My son came from a neutral place. At one point he considered the so called “pastor” in the suit a friend and looked up to him. He spoke of the disappointment and hurt hearing lies and seeing the “mud-slinging from the other side.” My daughter is more like me – she was just mad and drained. She wanted to defend her grandfather and rightfully so. She needs to be alone to process. He needs to talk. Each are processing in their own way what happened today and questioning how person that calls themself a “pastor” can act in ways that they believe contradict scriptures. They are questioning, they are upset, they are uncomfortable and it’s a really good thing!

I imagine we will revisit this topic over the days to come, but today, we chose to pull back the veil on evil today and allow them to see for themselves what was happening in an unfiltered manner and make their own judgments free of our influence. Tonight they are asking hard questions. They are going to sleep uncomfortable and I’m ok with that.

It is crucial that they learn now how to walk through uncomfortable, confusing, and frustrating in order to stretch and strengthen their ‘resiliency’ muscles. And, it is good to let them see that the Bible is true today:

But understand this, that in the last days dangerous times [of great stress and trouble] will come [difficult days that will be hard to bear].

²For people will be lovers of self [narcissistic, self-focused], lovers of money [impelled by greed], boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane,

³[and they will be] unloving [devoid of natural human affection, calloused and inhumane], irreconcilable, malicious gossips, devoid of self-control [intemperate, immoral], brutal, haters of good,

⁴traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of [sensual] pleasure rather than lovers of God,

⁵holding to a form of [outward] godliness (religion), although they have denied its power [for their conduct nullifies their claim of faith]. Avoid such people and keep far away from them.

2 Timothy 3: 1-5, Amplified

Jr and AJ saw 2 Timothy 3:1-5 in 3-D today. They saw someone who is a lover of himself, a man impelled by greed who is boastful, arrogant, irreconcilable, and so on.

We will allow them to wrestle, to question, and to cry. We will answer questions truthfully as we walk through this with their grandparents. Jr and AJ are most affected by the physical and emotional toll this situation has taken on their grandparents. Even though we do not have a ruling, their grandparents remain faithful, hopeful, peaceful. And we wait, together, praying and believing for truth to prevail.

We came home knowing their grandparents could impart lessons to our children and in this case, they are imparting this lesson: God is good even when evil prevails. We stand as family with the elders like Shadrach, Meshach, Abed-Nego did before King Nebuchadnezzar – God IS able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace but even if He doesn’t, we will not bow to another. We know that He is good and He is able.

^{Deuteronomy 5:16}

‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

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