1 First Quarter 2010C l e a r ly C a r i n g

Clearly CaringChristian Life resources

Values – Something to Hold On To

PParishedition

in today’s world, statements of what is right and what is wrong are recast as philosophical musings rather than univ- ersal absolutes. What philosophers call moral relativism God calls sin.

as people drift from the Word of God they become better students of philo-sophy than theology, and they give in to the ways of the world.

The Deceit of Moral relativismWe saw moral relativism in the Garden of eden:

satan: “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

eve: “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did

The acquiescence of Sinac•qui•es•cence – [ak-wee-es-uhns] – the act or condition of acquiescing or giving tacit assent; agreement or consent by silence or without objection; compliance. sin – transgression of divine law Source: www.dictionary.com

2 VaLues – somethinG to hoLD on toC l e a r ly C a r i n g - pa r i S H e D i T i O n

say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

satan: “You will not surely die, for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5)

satan was right. adam and eve both ate of the tree and they did not die – at that moment! that’s how moral relati- vism works. it provides a perceived advantage for today without regard of future repercussions.

any consequence for sin – delayed or not – still cannot remove the wrongness of our actions or the aftermath that will come. adam and eve eventually died. to defeat death the son of God had to die as well. Wrong is always wrong before God, regardless of the circumstance.

The results of acquiescencetoday we have open sexual immorality and abuse of God’s name. the love of money drives people into crimes of theft and murder. Disrespect for others abounds.

Challenging the applicability of God’s Word to moral issues challenges the

applicability of all God’s Word. Blurring the lines of truth endangers the core Christian message that “the wages of sin is death and the gift of God is eternal life” (romans 6:23). if God cannot be taken at his Word when he speaks about morality then is not his entire message of sin and salvation void of its power and meaning?

The Courage for Truththe apostle Paul admonished:

“therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Believe God when he speaks of the scourge of sin and its eternal consequ-ences. embrace the salvation that enables us to walk through the valley of the shadow of death without fear.

remain firm and unmoved while also demonstrating love, patience and compa- ssion. Being right with people who want to be wrong is a ministry for the soul and to the soul. never tire of doing the right thing and never surrender to those who wish to do the wrong thing. Persevere!

get a Free subscription to Clearly Caring – Home Edition!

Clearly Caring – Home Edition offers a Christian perspective on life and family issues. Learn about the issues in more detail! Published 3 times per year.

to subscribe, visit www.ClearlyCaring.com or call 1-800-729-9535.

Fourth Quarter 2010Volume 30 / Number 3

Clearly CaringChristian Life Resources

Also... Our Embryo Adoption Story Page 16

The DecisionRobert Fleischmann

4Adopted by My Parents... and GodPastor Paul Prange

8Blood is Thicker Than WaterTim Snyder

10

Adoption – A Decision of Love

HHome

Edition

Written by Pastor robert Fleischmann, national Director of Christian Life resources.

3070 Helsan Drive • Richfield, WI 53076800.729.9535 • www.ChristianLifeResources.com

3C l e a r ly C a r i n g

4 VaLues – somethinG to hoLD on toC l e a r ly C a r i n g - pa r i S H e D i T i O n

nO MOre SerMOnS

If I never hear another sermon about “family values,” it will be fine with me.that may sound like an odd thing to read in this magazine. it may seem to contradict the theme of this particular issue of this magazine. But stay with me.

the portion of the religion curriculum that falls to me each semester includes courses on the old testament. therefore, i meet regularly the awful depictions of “family values” that come to us on some pages of scripture. We are confronted with alien cultural values and skewed personal behavior, entirely out of step with what we have been taught to expect from the Bible.

Feeling inadequate that she has given her husband no male heir, sarah encourages abraham to take her young egyptian maid hagar to his bed, hoping to provide a son for him through her – and abraham says, “Yes.” Family turmoil predictably ensued.

Jacob’s wives Leah and rachel (who are also sisters) battle, bargain and beg for their husband’s attention. he has made no secret of which wife he loves more; one has his heart, but the other keeps having his children. the sister-wives then raise the stakes by each giving their husband a concubine, so that for a time Jacob is fathering children by four women.

Great King David, the man after the Lord’s heart, collected wives as political chess pieces; lost his first wife through no fault of his own but then wrenched her from the arms of her new husband, only to all but imprison her in his palace; and

married yet another woman almost immediately after the death of her foolish husband. all this happened before he famously committed adultery with the wife of one of his soldiers, arranged for the husband to die a combat hero, then comforted the grieving widow by adding her to his harem and beginning a family through her.

Wise King solomon married seven hundred wives of noble birth and another three hundred concubines. the numbers boggle the mind. has anyone attempted calcula- ting how many descendants solomon left behind?

my point is that when politicians, pundits or preachers indiscriminately exhort us to “return to Biblical family values,” we might ask, “Whose family’s values are you thinking of?”

But we do not live in the old testament times, and many of the transgressions of that era are no longer common among us. still, if i never hear another sermon about “family values,” it will be fine with me. i know how easy it is to listen to such sermons – and how easy it is to preach them. i also know how difficult it is to live up to them.

our particular tribe of Christians often comes under criticism for not being sufficiently vocal about our faith and values. Lutherans are accused of “quietism.” We appear reluctant to “confess with our mouths” the faith we surely “believe in our hearts.” Christians from other denominations – let’s not names names – are more vocal in the “family values” arena.

by rev. Mark Braun, professor Theology at Wisconsin lutheran College in Milwaukee, Wi and a member of

the Christian life resources’ Board of Directors.

But what is often criticized as a weakness is something i regard as a strength. We are uncomfortable wearing our values on “our sleeves,” and we are often reluctant to tell others how they ought to live – because we know our own weaknesses and failings so well. We would much rather watch the unspectacular, day-to-day virtues of hard work, honesty, integrity, patience and commitment that people practice without fanfare.

Years ago, on the first day of an overseas tour, a woman joining our group introduced herself to me by saying, “i want you to know that i am a very good Christian.” stated that way, she turned her introduction into a challenge to live up to. she turned out to be a difficult, demanding traveler – so much so, that if her bold claim and subsequent boorishness were the only

criterion available to me to judge the merits of Christianity, i would sooner become almost anything else – or nothing at all – than a Christian.

i don’t want to hear another sermon about “family values,” because i already know all the things i should be doing and how i repeatedly have failed to live up to my intentions. mark twain is supposed to have admitted once that there were parts of the Bible he did not understand, but, he said, “it’s the parts of the Bible i do understand that bother me.”

What i need to hear is repeated assur-ances of God’s forgiveness, and frequent reminders that God’s strength will be made perfect in my weakness. i need to see more quiet examples of men and women who try, who fall down and who get up to try some more.

800.661.3311 • timeofgrace.org

Watch Time of Grace anyWhere With

satellite television!

Available on the following networks:Daystar, NRB, INSP, CTN, and

Angel One

Many cable providers also carry these networks.Please check your local listings.

5 VaLues – somethinG to hoLD on toC l e a r ly C a r i n g - pa r i S H e D i T i O n

The auction bill read, “Due to the tragic deaths of Bill and edith Webber, the following will be sold to the highest bidders...”“how much do you think this is worth?” i asked my husband as i turned the china cup over. the delicate bone china felt light as a feather as i smoothed my finger over the feminine pink rose pattern.

“i don’t know,” answered my husband, barely glancing at the cup. “People are crazy. You can never tell what something will be worth to someone.”

i carefully set the cup down amid the various other material remains of a life long lived and followed my husband’s meanderings away from the household items to the “guy stuff.” Walking amid the clutter of hoes, saws and old engine parts we couldn’t stop ourselves from imagining what kind of man had once used these things.

“he must have been into woodworking,” my husband said as several partially-built birdhouses and knickknacks came into view. old tractor parts attested to the probability that he had been a farmer at one time, and a brightly-colored sand bucket amid the rusty screws and old wrenches made me wonder if he was most often referred to as “Grandpa.”

auctions always make me a little sad. especially when personal possessions are being sold off to the highest bidder, i can’t help but wonder about their previous owner.

Was that china cup Grandma’s favorite? Did Grandpa have special plans for

those birdhouses sitting among the tools? so often i see old photographs, books and other material possessions that seem far too personal to sell. at the Webber auction i saw a book with the inscription, “to aunt edith on her 85th birthday” and a recipe box filled with hand-written recipes. how can loved ones part with these things? thumbing through that recipe box i wondered how long “aunt edith” worked on her recipe for cinnamon rolls until she got it just right. Who would ever know now? they might never be made again.

The Value of people, not Thingsmy persistent ruminations have prompted my husband to threaten to no longer take me with him to auctions. he says that all those accumulated possessions of a lifetime are just “things” and that has set me to wondering. Why do i have such an emotional response to these material things? Why should it seem important to save forever a china cup or half-finished birdhouse? i think the answer is that far too often we attach personal significance to something that isn’t. a ring that Grandma always wore might be a nice thing to remind us of her, but it’s not an extension of who she was. things are just reminders. they don’t carry with them the thoughts and feelings of those who have left us behind and shouldn’t be fought over by grieving relatives. We should value people, not things. Value the love that cannot be seen with our eyes but felt in our hearts. the true mementos of our loved ones are the love they shared, the wisdom they imparted to us and the memories of both happy and unhappy times that carried us through.

there’s certainly a lesson to be learned by watching an auction. all those material “things” we spend our lifetime accumula-ting and sometimes value so highly, in the end, really don’t amount to much after all.

6 VaLues – somethinG to hoLD on toC l e a r ly C a r i n g - pa r i S H e D i T i O n

True Value

by Lynn Klammer, a licensed clinical psychologist, educator and author.

7 VaLues – somethinG to hoLD on toC l e a r ly C a r i n g - pa r i S H e D i T i O n

Materials:

Paper

tape or glue

scissors

this project will help the child start thinking about how they share some similarities with their parents. adopted children will still share some interests and possibly even physical characteristics of their parents. if they do not look alike, have the child focus on activities they are all interested in.

talk to the child about how they are like one or • both of their parents in particular ways.

have the child draw a pyramid on the paper, like • the one pictured on the right.

Write on the sides three ways they are alike • and their name on the bottom.

Cut on the outside lines only.•

Fold on the inside lines to make a pyramid.•

tape or glue the tabs.•

Put the pyramid on your refridgerator • or bulletin board where the child will see it regularly.

i am like My parents

TrUe TO liFe:CLR’s life curriculum for Christian schools

(Available for purchase at www.FamilyTG.com)

8 VaLues – somethinG to hoLD on toC l e a r ly C a r i n g - pa r i S H e D i T i O n

Just as CLr offers “food for the soul” in bite-sized insights about Christian living, we also offer “food for the body” with recipe favorites. enjoy this issue’s selection.

QUiCk MiCrO MineSTrOne SOUp

3 slices bacon, cut up 1 med. onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

1 clove garlic, mined ¼ cup sliced carrots

¼ cup chopped celery ½ of 15.5 oz. jar spaghetti sauce

1 (8 oz.) can red kidney beans ¼ cup small shell pasta

1½ tsp. instant beef bouillon granules ¼ tsp. pepper

¼ cup chopped zucchini snipped parsley

Grated parmesan cheese

in 2-quart non-metal casserole, cook bacon, covered at 100% power (hiGh) for 2½ minutes or until almost crisp, stirring once. add onion and garlic. Cook, covered, for 2 minutes or until onion is tender. Drain; set aside. in same casserole, combine carrots, celery and 1 tablespoon water. Cook, covered, for 2-3 minutes, until veggies are tender. stir in 3 cups water, the bacon-onion mixture, spaghetti sauce, beans, pasta, granules and pepper. Cook, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring once. add zucchini. Cook. Covered, for 5-8 minutes more or till pasta is tender. Ladle into soup bowls. sprinkle each serving with parsley and Parmesan cheese. makes 3-4 servings.

note: this soup can also be made on the stovetop with the cooking times adjusted accordingly.

recipes

Offering envelopes available!

remember the ministries of Christian Life resources and New Beginnings – A Home for Mothers when ordering your congregation’s offering envelopes. available at northwestern Publishing house today!