Today’s Scripture Reading (April 16, 2018): 1 John 3
My paternal grandfather was big on the idea
of keeping the family name going. He wanted his Mullen heritage to passed down
through the generations; he wanted his family name to be given to his children.
And he did his part. Grandpa Mullen had two sons, Duane (my father) and Walden,
to carry on the Mullen name. The next generation wasn’t as kind to my
Grandfathers ambition. Of his four grandchildren, only one was a male (me). Oh,
don’t get me wrong, my grandfather lavished his love on all of his
grandchildren; there is no question that he adored his granddaughters, but only
one of us would carry on the name. And so as I married and began to have
children, the pressure was on. Our firstborn was a girl, Alyssa. My Grandfather
loved his great-granddaughter, but he was still hoping for a boy. And the boy
came with our second child, Craig. I proudly called my grandfather to announce
the happy news. His Mullen name would be carried on for at least one more
generation. Grandpa would die in a household accident just a little over a year
after that phone call, but I am so glad that he lived long enough to greet and
hold his great-grandson.
As I write these words, my son and his wife
are expecting their first child. And in the waiting time, at this moment when we don’t yet know whether
they will have a boy or a girl, I find my thoughts drifting back to my
grandfather, wondering if there will be one more boy to carry on his name
through one more generation.
Of course, I am also painfully aware that the
name doesn’t mean anything unless we do something positive with it. It is one of the worries that I have
had over the years and a worry I still
maintain today. Am I a positive example of the Mullen name. Do I bring honor or
dishonor to the family of my grandfather? It is a heavy weight to bear, and I
am afraid that, at times, I have not weathered up well to the name. And so I
try a little harder to carry on with honor and dignity the name that my
grandfather has left me.
John says that we have been commanded to do
two things. The first is to believe in Jesus, although he phrases it this way –
to believe in the Name of Jesus. The Name is important. We sing that there is
Power in the Name. Speaking the Name is important because it is one way that we
bring honor to Jesus, we perpetuate his Name. The second command that John
insists has been left to us is to love each
other. In actuality, the two are connected.
We bear the name of Christ; we are called Christians. And Christians often have
a bad reputation in this world for one reason. I can’t explain why, but we
often refuse to love one another. Sometimes we want to put restrictions on that
love. The command is to “love one another” which means love other Christians.
But to believe in this limited form of love means that we have to ignore
Jesus’s parable of “The Good Samaritan.” But even if we do accept that limited definition,
we don’t even seem to love other Christians well. Christ commands that we love those who love us and those who hate
us. We love when it is easy and when it is hard. We love those who agree with
our political stance and those who oppose it. When we have to protest, we do
not do it with hate and with guns, but we choose nonviolent forms of protest so
that we can get our message across. Again, straight from the words of Jesus, we
are instructed to be the ones who turn the other cheek and walk the extra mile.
And as we do this, we bring honor to the name
of the Son, the one in whom we believe.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 John 4
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