Like Father

I work full-time as a video producer at a college university. One of my most recent projects was a video highlighting first generation college students; students who were the first of their family to ever pursue a college degree. These students decided to break out of the generational cycle set by their parents, grandparents and beyond to be the first of their line to continue their education at a college level. This isn’t to say that obtaining a college degree makes anyone any better than anyone else. But I bring it up to highlight the truth that it is possible to break generational patterns set by our parents - college being one example. If you’ve read the succession of Israelite kings highlighted in the Old Testament, you might’ve notice a pattern passed down through the generations that really should’ve been broken. It says in second Kings chapter 21, verse 20:

“He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done.”

The “he” that is mentioned here is in reference to Amon, a young king who followed in his father’s footsteps, continuing the pattern of disobedience that his father had modeled. I can only imagine how difficult it is to break with tradition, or vier from taught behavior, and blaze a new path in life. But many have done it. I want to encourage you, if your parents have never followed Christ, that doesn’t mean you have to follow their path. Today would be the perfect time to blaze your own trail. Second Kings records king Amon following the same destructive path his father had led. If the example your parents set before you doesn’t lead to Christ, I would implore you to choose the path that does.

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King Amon chose to follow the destructive path his father had walked. But if we read on we learn that though Amon and his father had done evil in the eyes of the Lord, Amon’s son, Josiah, chose to break the pattern. The Bible says that he “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left”. Within the line of Israelite kings, most chose to do evil in the sight of God. But there were a few, those like David and Josiah, who broke with tradition and blazed their own path, following God and obeying his commands. If your parents are not following Christ, that doesn’t mean you have to follow their lead. You can blaze a new path; a fruitful path; one you can pass down to your children and grandchildren.

The Real World

I remember when I first saw the blockbuster movie, “The Matrix” back in 1999. I was blown away by the original story and the ground breaking special effects. Now, almost two decades since its release, I still think about a phrase Morpheus tells Neo when he first pulls his consciousness out of the matrix. He says, “welcome to the real world”. When I consider that phrase, I’m reminded that we are in somewhat of a matrix; a world that isn’t as real as the one we will see after we die. The real world is the heavenly realm. Ephesians makes reference to it, and we can also find a story in second Kings that fleshes it out. In second kings chapter 6 verse 17, it says: 

“And Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

In the story, the servant was afraid because he saw an army of Arameans soldiers surrounding them, preparing to attack. Elisha wasn’t afraid because he knew that God would protect him. He says to the servant, “Don’t be afraid, those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” When God opened the servant’s eyes so that he could see the army of God, it was almost as if God were saying “welcome to the real world”. Like Elisha, I believe that believers should always keep in mind that there is a world more real than the one we are currently living in; a spiritual realm that we can’t yet see, but we will one day. So, remember that God is at work within this spiritual realm, and even when we can’t see it with our own eyes, we should have faith.

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One day our eyes will be fully opened as if we are being told, “welcome to the real world”. Until then, we get to play in this physical realm where we are locked within these physical bodies and can only see with our physical eyes. We are limited by the laws of science, nature and time as we exist in the here and now. But we should never forget about the spiritual world, because Ephesians tells us that our battle isn’t against flesh and blood people that we can see in this physical world, but it is against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. If we don’t believe there is a spiritual world then what do we do with a portion of scripture like this? I encourage you to give it some thought.