“I can buy myself flowers….”
(Song, Miley Cyrus)
Has there been a time in your life when you wanted God’s compassion and grace but didn’t feel worthy enough to receive it? King David’s great-great-grandfather’s wife was in such a position. At the time, Rahab was living as a prostitute in the wall of Jericho. She had heard about the Israelites and how they were on their way to take Jericho as part of conquering the Promised Land. Rahab had heard about the God of the Israelites but didn’t know Him. She didn’t know that He is a God of grace.
Rahab knew about the God of the Israelites but she didn’t know Him. So when the Israelite spies approached her, she used that knowledge of God to strike a deal with them to save her family from death, not realising that she would receive even more than just a reprieve from her death. She would also become part of the lineage of Jesus Christ. The rejected and despised prostitute of Jericho became the wife of King David’s great-great-grandfather. What an honour and blessing to be touched by God’s grace, experiencing His compassion.
Rahab was given this honour and blessing because she believed that God was who they said He was – the only true God with the power to change lives, maybe even her own. And what a major change for her, from hopeless to hopeful. She became part of God’s plan to redeem mankind by playing a part in the lineage of Jesus.
Just as God had compassion on Rahab in the Old Testament, Jesus showed compassion on many during His ministry. Many times He was ‘moved with compassion’. The original language used in these passages conveys the depth and extent to which He was moved. Nouwen (1983) suggests it was as if He was moved to the depth of His womb. To know that God the father loves us so deeply in every situation, cares for us and is with us in every situation is a truly comforting thought.
God is reminding us of the deep, deep connection He has with us in every situation in life. In our culture today, we may face society’s destructive isolating messages of the evil one, suggesting we don’t deserve God’s grace and then that we don’t really need His grace and compassion – that we can handle life without His help – on our own. Using today’s society’s values, there is no need for God.
Our students face these messages daily. Internet and social media continually barrage ‘deprecating’ messages about identity and life, telling them that they don’t need God or anyone. For example, a Chanel 22 bag advertisement shows a young woman in LA accomplishing many things in a day, realising at the end that she had been completely alone all day and hadn’t needed anyone. The impact statement was “Alone, sure, but not lonely”. Another example, noted as the most downloaded song three times in 2023 already, is a song by Miley Cyrus. The chorus:
“… I can buy myself flowers
Write my name in the sand
Talk to myself for hours
Say things you don’t understand
I can take myself dancing
And I can hold my own hand
Yeah, I can love me better than you can”,
This may encourage us to live by today’s culture’s values “Live for yourself and don’t answer to anyone else”.
Lastly, the ‘Wedding for One’, is a non-legally binding ceremony where the person marries themselves. Described as the ceremony for those who are divorced, worried that they won’t get married or ‘happy being single’, Erin Molan recently married herself, as a celebration of ‘self-love’.
Our students see, hear and discuss these attitudes and values, not realising they are being indoctrinated. Alone but not lonely? Their real need is to be in God’s plan of living interconnectedly in a community of God’s love. Rahab knew it, people in Jesus’ day knew it and we know it.
In our Christian schools, we can give our students a window to experience God’s love, grace and compassion by showing Christian community and by listening. Listening without judging, ‘preaching’, or giving cliches – giving a break from the indoctrination of society. As Brian Cox notes, creating spaces for these conversations helps our students think outside of our society’s values and understand themselves and God in a safe place.
As we move through the early weeks of Term 2, may we be mindful of giving our students these opportunities to contemplate their lives and faith. May we continue to pray for the Holy Spirit to give them wisdom and peace, as we show God’s grace and compassion in the day-to-day school life.
“… I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, …. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him … I want to know Christ.” (Phil 3:7-10)