For five years we lived on a certain island where for unrecorded generations they had been cut off from the rest of the world and had no knowledge of the Bible.  Guess what their lives were like.  Living conditions were abysmal.  Education and medical care were non-existent.  They used stone axes and hadn’t yet invented the wheel.  Their witch doctors ruled with the power of life and death fueled by fear.  Women were treated cruelly.  Some tribes cut female relatives’ fingers off to mourn the dead, and all menial labor fell to them. Children grew up with little relationship with their fathers.  In these tribes, the men didn’t live with their wives and children at all.  Their wives (Yes, plural.  Multiple wives for one man.) lived with their children and the pigs they tended in separate huts.  The wives did all the physical labor while the men prepared for war. The maiming, death, fear, and wasted energy caused by war kept them from improving their lives.

“only by dying could he [Jesus] break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.  Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.”  Hebrews 2:14-15

In other tribes, the women fared no better.  One Christmas break our oldest son went with his high school friend and his father to visit a very remote tribe where the friend’s family previously had attempted to bring the Good News about God’s love.  The primitive living conditions of these hunters and gatherers were completely foreign to our Western sensibilities.  But deeper than that were the dark attitudes and practices.  Our son couldn’t help but notice the raised scars on the bare backs of the women.  His friend explained that when a man wanted a woman, he beat her until she agreed to sleep with him.  They had no clothing, no homes, no cultivation, no stability.  They wandered from place to place in search of food putting up tree branch shelters to sleep under.  One night our son heard a rat and got up and killed it.  Although it was the middle of the night, he was told to take the dead rat to the chief because he would appreciate the meat.  

In another primitive tribe at a certain time once a year the couples engaged in sex with another partner and then returned to their original mates.  So there could be no certainty about the fatherhood of children.  The marriage relationship was torn apart each year and everyone suffered. My friends, these kinds of things happen when we are left to our own devices without God. When we shut God out, we are also shutting out the good we need to thrive.

During Holy Week I kept thinking of the difference Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection have made.  What blessings do I enjoy because he came?  I soon realized everything I enjoy is a result of his sacrifice. If he had not come to lay down his life, my life would have no resemblance to the good life I now have.  I probably wouldn’t have known about the one true God because my heritage isn’t Jewish.  My personal life would have been far from God and I would have followed my own selfish inclinations.  I wouldn’t have known that I could get help to be a better person.  I would be living among others who were short on love, and hope.  My culture would be cruel and harsh.  And my standard of living would be much lower than what I’m privileged to enjoy now.  You may think I’m overstating this, but please hear me out.  I don’t have room to mention the impact of Jesus on government, science, art, literature, medical care, humanitarian aid, and technology.  So I’ll just limit this article to personal and family blessings.  Let’s start with the personal benefits because once Jesus reaches lovingly into our personal lives, the blessings flow out from him through us into our families.

Love is from God through Jesus.  We can’t even love God without help. He loved us first by initiating a loving relationship that teaches us that we are forgiven and empowered to obey him.  We know that failure is temporary and that he is greater than our wrongdoing.  Then he enables us to love others with unselfishness, forgiveness, compassion, kindness, patience, and generosity.

 ^“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”  1 John 4:10

Because of the love from God in our inner being, we have hope that surpasses our failures, our trials, and our losses.  There is an eternal Light at the end of the tunnel.  We have wonderful things to look forward to.  Jesus beckons us from Heaven’s portal and even better, he accompanies us every difficult step by his Spirit in us.

Faith also is a gift from God because we can’t manufacture it.  When things get tough, we stumble.  I think of Peter trying to walk on water like Jesus.  He started out well, but he began to sink.  Our Lord understands our weakness so he reaches out his strong arm and brings us along with his strength.  He helps us grow in faith by showing us over and over in big and small ways how much he cares and how powerful he is.

So, what are the results of his gifts of love and faith and hope?  Each of us is a conduit from him to those around us.  This impacts our families first.  Husbands are kinder and more patient.  Wives are more supportive.  Children are more eager to cooperate.  Am I saying there is constant peace and harmony in God-fearing homes?  We know that isn’t reality.  But we have the ideals of Scripture that teach us how to behave in our families.  And we have God’s help to move toward those ideals.  We have the desire to do right and we keep trying after failure.

Those of us who are older grew up in a culture that valued marriage.  Getting and staying married was the accepted behavior in our society when we were young.  I know what you’re thinking; many marriages back then were miserable and they were united in name only.  I agree.  That was because the foundation of many marriages was simply conformity to culture. They weren’t founded on obedience to God and loving each other with God’s help.  Take my parents as an example.  Although my mother lived out her faith, my father didn’t live by godly standards.  Nor did he love my mother enough to be faithful to their marriage. His refusal to include God in his life resulted in a lot of hurt and loss for each of us, but he lost the most in the end.  His flings might have given him momentary pleasure, but he ended up a lonely, unhappy old man while my mother went home to heaven early and I grew up and married a man who loves God, does his best to obey God, and has loved me faithfully for 50+ years.  I’m so grateful that Jesus came to show us the way, make the way, and be the Way to a better life!