Today's Word

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"Stop making My Father's house a house of merchandise." John 2:16

My - In Greek, mou meaning "me or mine". Literally the verse reads, "Do not make the house the Father of me a place of merchandise." Such a simple word. But the implication is enormous. Jesus never refers to the temple as our Father's house. Jesus uses the expression "my father" almost fifty times in the gospels. Only on one notable occasion does he say, "Our Father" and that is when he is teaching us to pray. Why is this pronoun so important? Because it clearly separates Jesus from all the rest of humanity. He is not identified with us. He is God's Son in a way that is different from all other human beings. This pronoun is a claim of divinity!

Jesus transfers the context of family from the earthly realm to the realm of the divine. It is his Father, an expression that is the equivalent of saying "my dad". Believers are adopted sons and daughters. He is the original.

When I think about the cultural destruction of the family, I see that spiritual forces are at work undermining the natural connections that we are intended to share. Why do evil forces care about family relationships? Because the language of family is the language of God's purposes for us. If I lose my references to intimate family experiences, I also lose my references to God's intended family. I am no longer able to transfer one context to the other. I have to have the context rebuilt for me. Fortunately, God is very good at rebuilding.

The pronoun "my" separates Jesus from all the rest of us. The noun "Father" brings us all back together. God is my Father too. Not in the same way, but still the same Father. The man who could say, "my Father", made it possible for me to say with you, "our Father". As I go through life trying to learn all over what it means to have a family, I know that some day I will greet my oldest Brother face to face and hear him say, "Let me present you to my Father."

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