Iron and Clay
Is your home spiritually lead? Learn more about Christian leadership with a life lesson.
“So this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some strength of iron in it…partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle…so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united any more than iron mixes with clay” (Daniel 2:41-43).
Daniel was interpreting the King’s dream of a statue that was gold at the top, then silver, bronze and finally iron and clay. One well placed rock broke it and it crumbled. He was prophesying about Babylon, but it seems the description fits our country, doesn’t it? We were founded one nation under God, but no longer.
It was once a golden nation. A nation founded on the God-given rights of all men created equal in the sight of the Creator, each of value and worth. Of course, that was the ideal- slavery, indentured servitude, the east coast work houses, the mistreatment of the native Indians, the lawlessness of the Wild West was the reality. Still our country remained a beacon. Churches were the center of town life. Freedom rang.
Now as our legislature has made God unpopular and banned Him from our schools and His principles are no longer taught, we are a nation divided. We are partly strong, yet our morals, our economy and our ethics are crumbling like clay. God’s remnant is the iron. We hold these truths to be self evident – in God we will continue to trust. Our God will provide and protect His people:
- If we pray and return to Him.
- If we continue in our homes to teach our children of His power and promises, of His grace and our sinfulness.
- If we continue to treat people with love and dignity and reach out to be His hands and feet and teach our kids to do so also.
- If we teach them that honesty is the best policy and confession is good for the soul.
Then, they receive Christ as their Savior.
Jesus said He was not interceding for the world, only those the Father had given to His care. (John 17:9) As believers, we are the children of the King destined for the streets of gold. Our children will see the path we are headed down and eventually make the decision to follow long after they demand we let go of their hand and claim independence. Proverbs promises if we teach them God’s way when they are young, they will return to Him.
Mothers, as the old song from Crosby Stills and Nash says, remember to teach your children well. Grandmothers, aunts, bigger sisters- you are not exempt. If you are not teaching the children you know about Jesus, who is going to?
One home school mother I know bought wallets from the dollar store. She and her kids put religious tracks and numbers to call for financial assistance in them, then dropped them in parking lots near stores and watched to see if people would snatch them up, or turn them in. What did her kids learn? One, some people are not honest. They are greedy. Two, Jesus loves them, too and we need to help them discover who He is. Great lessons, right?
Question: What children in your life could use a lesson about Jesus’ love? How can you demonstrate that to them?
6 Responses to “Iron and Clay”
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Excellent comments. Getting back to the question.
I don’t think you can tell or show your kids enough how much you love them. One time I asked my kids “how do you know I love you” – one said “you tell me all the time” – the other said “you always buy me stuff” I learned about their love language that day. I have found that being specific is important too such as “I really liked how you were kind to that lady the other day…way to go” Telling someone you are proud of them goes a long way. I would love to hear others ideas too.
Lori, Fran and others-
Great conversatons. When I wrote this I certainly didn’t expect it to lkead in this direction – but God is good and His wisdom and purpose are great.
I agree. God loves and cherishes all His creatures. However, sin is sin, and Scripture says God cannot be in the presences of sin. I don’t believe God, who wanted so desparately to be in restored communion with His people that He sent His son to die for them, would purposely create a certain type of people and then proclaim over and over in Scripture their practices were sinful.
I believe homosexuality, like addictive behavoirs, alocoholism, etc are human tendencies in this fallen world, as are any sinful acts we engage in – lying, pride, jealousies, idolatry. We have all fallen short of the glory of God (Romans). But there is hope for the helpless.
Through Christ all can be reconciled. There are many happy and “made whole” homosexuals who have turned to Jesus and found healing. As the Church we are called to love the sinner, but don’t condone the sin. And certainly don’t tell them, it’s okay because “that’s just how they are”.
To applaud alternative lifestyles whether it is living together out of wedlock, having same sex partners, sodomy, or adultry, only further errodes the family structure God created. That is the “clay”. God’s statutes and loving mercy are our “iron”.
Not a popluar view in today’s world, and too many mainstream churches are bending over to accepting all lifestyles so they can become more “popular”. But in doing so, and then not leading those people(and the rest of us who must confess our sins and change our ways)to a better way in Christ Jesus, they are actually losing members because the Gospel message they still preach and say in liturgy then is diluted and becomes meaningless. It is just another way Satan loves to divide the Church.
Should a homosexual repent though, as they are deceived (by evil)? I look at this “life-style” as being deceptive (like we all are), but it’s “chosen” deception… If we’re following God, then He will not accept that without the attemt to try to “fix it” or “repent”… How do you feel about this? In the Bible it states clearly that marriage is to be btwn a man and woman, and so are we to lie down w/..etc… as husband and wife. Search Sodom and Gomorrah…homosexuality is not acceptable and it is sin as we all sin…owners of this life-style are choosing wrong and they are deceived by the worLd telling them it is OK. I’d love to know what you think of this, as I respect this website and it’s beliefs. Thanks so much.
Fran,
Are you asking if homosexuals are “equal in the sight of the Creator and each of value and worth”? If so, the answering is a resounding YES. All people are made in the image of God, loved and cherished, and valued by God so highly that He gave Son for them.
In this devotional my question is “God created all men equal in the sight of the Creator, each of value and worth. So how does this pertain to homosexual individuals? I question this because I struggle how to respond to them.
thanks.
Amen, Sister!