The Jubilee

I am definitely more on the side of nothing-ventured-nothing-gained which seems to find me venturing, over and over again. Doesn't exactly do wonders for my marriage, at least it didn't used to. I think my wife is in a better place now, mostly because she knows that I won't dive off the deep end and do something really stupid. Risks are one thing, but stupidity is another.

We've always held similar views on our money, though. I think that is one of the secrets to our marriage actually. I can't remember EVER having a fight about money, although I had always heard that this was the number one destructor of marriages, especially in the early years. We've always believed in taking care of our family, but giving as much as we could. I think that this could be one reason that we haven't saved anything up until now, but in looking back, I am pretty happy with the way we have handled our finances.

The Jubilee talked about in Leviticus 25 is such a foreign concept. When I first heard about it, or in actuality, understood what I was reading, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Is it possible in our society, in our culture, that this concept could be applied to our lives. Our entire economic system is set up on a buying and selling mentality, with permanency attached. That said, I think that having children in our home is one concrete example of an application of the Jubilee. Simply by loving these kids, I see us redeeming these children, giving them another chance at life where they might not have had that chance in the circumstances where they were living.

That is one application. I think that there could be others right within this same context. Specifically, I think of the mom of the two girls we have right now. On the surface, it appears she simply needs to find a place to stay. Could we redeem this life, give her the very least of her needs - shelter, a roof over her head? I think this is a next step for us to take and something that we should be doing. In this way, we not only look after the orphan, but we can reunite a family. This is indeed a compelling prospect for us to undertake.

In the time of the sabbath year and then also into the Jubilee, God promised that he would bless the harvest of the Israelites so they would eat from the abundance of three years that would take place in one. To this, I can only say - Bring it on! I don't know about three years, but Gina and I were reflecting just today how we have been incredibly blessed by God with a full year's pay, equal to the amount of my salary, in one bonus check to come later this year. Wow! I hadn't ever really considered this within the context of the sabbath year. I'm not sure that I am supposed to actually take the year off, although it did just strike me that this is the seventh year of my marriage...

Seriously, the question before me is "Am I fearful I will be too rich and that will keep me from God?" I would have to say that my answer to this is a "yes" with reservations. My fears would simply come from my own low expectations of myself and how I will react and use the monies that God has given me. Would I invest it wisely in and on the Kingdom or spend it foolishly on all kinds of other things? I would like to say that I would invest, but I can remember myself doing weird things with my money in the past.

One of my chief goals is to make myself, my family, and all that we own open and available to those that would come for the taking. This is important to me because of my yearning for community, to be open an honest with another person, another group of people, maybe families at a time. My only reservation to this is that I must provide for my family in the midst of accomplishing this goal. While I do a lot of travel and I feel that it hinders me from achieving the level of community and giving of myself that I desire, I also know that it provides a living for my family and opportunities to give of ourselves in many other ways. In this, then, I have a vested interest that may hinder the "shalom" that is being discussed here, but I'm simply trying to find the balance that I believe God has called me to during this time of my life.