Noble Calling (standard:Inspirational stories, 3985 words)
Author: Eutychus	Added: Oct 04 2010	Views/Reads: 3071/2059	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A father looks at the world, his young daughter, and considers his fears for her future.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

Maddie's first pumpkin pie made from an actual pumpkin. Though the mix 
of spices differed significantly from pumpkin in a can and the pumpkin 
in the pie contained lumps not unlike those found in home made mashed 
potatoes, he was favorably impressed with the final product. 

Stepping up on a chair to reach the highest shelf, he also recalled the
impromptu lesson he had shared with Constance regarding God's ability 
to turn a messy situation into something fruitful. Then a messy 
situation from earlier that week at school intruded upon his thoughts 
and the warm fuzzy sensation was replaced by a feeling that was both 
cold and repulsive... 

Though he had only been in the job for five years, he quickly learned to
recognize the signs. The girl was thin and the weather too warm to 
justify the sweater. He didn't need to see the bony limbs beneath the 
baggy clothes to know that this girl was not eating. 

He casually made his way around to her and as a boy on the opposite side
of the room presented his research into Thomas Jefferson's war with the 
Barbary pirates, he observed close up. Two fingers were bruised where a 
ring might sit, corresponding to how far a finger must be shoved into 
the mouth to engage the gag reflex. As that reflex engages, teeth bear 
down on the finger responsible and result in bruises. The hand was also 
abnormally red, indicating possible chemical burns from stomach acid. 

He expressed his concerns to the school nurse and the girl's guidance
counselor and was not surprised to learn that his was not the first 
mention made of the circumstances. The police would soon be involved in 
the situation because of a note found by the girl's Spanish teacher 
that morning which gave indications of abuse at home. 

“Sometimes I just hate this world,” Kyle had said to the counselor after
learning of the alleged role played by the mom's live-in boyfriend in 
the abuse. “This job is going to make me the most over-protective 
parent in history...” 

Maddie stepped into the kitchen and thanked Kyle for his initiative.
Unsolicited assistance with any household chore was always appreciated. 


“But I know you're not afraid of heights, so why the pensive look?” 

He stepped off the chair and said, “I was thinking about that situation
with Allison Hill and I've developed a possibly irrational concern for 
our own daughter. Not that we'd ever put her in a similar set of 
circumstances, but the world is such a toxic place anymore. Kids are 
enticed from an early age away from anything resembling spirituality 
and urged to embrace a material definition of the world. Really, how do 
we compete with all the glitz and frou-frou Constance will be inundated 
with between now and when she's eighteen?” 

“I'm not entirely sure, but I do think it's something that is primarily
on our shoulders. An hour in Sunday school each week won't make the 
needed impression. We can't, and really shouldn't, trust anyone else to 
make our case for a Christian worldview.” 

“I know. That's what makes it so scary. You would think there would be
something other than the admonition to ‘train up a child in the way he 
should go' by constantly bringing to mind God's commands for us to go 
on. How do we train our little girl in a way that she'll be able to 
resist the opinions of friends who don't share our point of view?” 

Maddie thought for a minute, came up with a possible avenue to pursue
and then dismissed it. 

“What were you thinking?” Kyle asked after a quick read of her
expressions. 

“I was going to suggest you look at all the parents in the Bible and see
how they passed along their faith. But then I thought about the first 
several generations of people God dealt with and realized that those 
were some of the most dysfunctional families in Scripture.” 

“True. In spite of having a parent or two who knew God, the offspring
tended to have to encounter Him themselves before Yahweh truly became 
their God. That doesn't say much for the teaching skills of the 
parents.” 

“Well, it is true that no one rides their parents coattails into heaven
and we come to God on our own, so to speak, but I'm sure they all had 
their moments of influence on their families.” 

“Probably so. I'll have to look into it. I mean, they must have done
something right or we wouldn't regard them as heroes of the faith.” 

During a quiet moment between services that Sunday, Kyle presented his
concerns to Pastor Douglas. The pastor listened thoughtfully and then 
wrote down some references for Kyle to consider. 

“These will give you some insight into how Abraham, Isaac and their clan
went about passing their faith along to the generation to follow, but I 
would really suggest you meditate on the first five verses of Job. Take 
some time to consider these and then we'll talk.” 

As he looked over the short list of references that evening, he noted
that each one was from a time prior to Israel's existence as a nation, 
meaning that there was no God-established system of worship. There was 
no priesthood that would offer the various sacrifices for the people, 
no codified Law as such, and most certainly no place for corporate 
worship. But worship and sacrifice nonetheless took place. 

In the eighth chapter of Genesis he read “...Noah built an altar to the
LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and 
offered burnt offerings on the altar.”(Gen. 8:20) Sacrifices were 
offered in the only setting available at the time, that being the 
setting of the family. Noah built an altar, selected animals, then 
killed and burned them as offerings to the Lord. Kyle had to assume 
that this was something Noah did on behalf of his family, not just for 
himself, which would have made Noah something of a family priest. 

Later on in the Genesis account Kyle read of a few instances where
Abraham built altars and offered sacrifices to God. It seemed plain 
that Abraham was a man who believed and worshipped the one true God and 
Kyle couldn't imagine that such a person wouldn't have the spiritual 
welfare of his family in mind as he went about making sacrifices. 

Then Kyle read Genesis 17:23-27, a passage that seemed to teach Abraham
even demanded true worship from his household, something else that 
might be expected of someone with a priestly calling. This event took 
place immediately after Abraham received a divine command to circumcise 
himself and his entire household: “Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, 
and all the servants who were born in his house and all who were bought 
with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's household, and 
circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the very same day, as God 
had said to him. Now Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was 
circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was 
thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his 
foreskin. In the very same day Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his 
son. All the men of his household, who were born in the house or bought 
with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.” 

Here Kyle saw the very beginnings of a community of people who would
worship the one true God. All males who were to be identified with that 
community and who would worship with that community had to be 
circumcised. Though not everyone involved in this ritual was related by 
blood to Abraham, they were all a part of his household. And Abraham 
took the responsibility to ensure that his entire household 
participated in this act of obedience. While Abraham couldn't speak to 
the condition of the hearts of each household member, as the head of 
that household, he could mandate that worship of God take place at 
least outwardly within his family group. 

Though he had to agree with Maddie regarding the dysfunctional nature of
some aspects of the families of the patriarchs, he was coming to 
appreciate their devotion to God and to their families where He was 
concerned. 

As he read the first five verses in Job, he was again struck by the
duties the head of the house had assumed. The fourth and fifth verses 
seemed to say in rather plain terms that Job was serving in the office 
of priest on behalf of his family where it was stated that Job's “sons 
used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and 
they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with 
them. When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would 
send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering 
burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, 
‘Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.' Thus Job 
did continually.”(Job 1:4-5) 

In saying that Job did this continually, it seemed obvious that this was
not something done simply for a special occasion but that Job felt 
obligated to act as a priest and to offer sacrifices on behalf of each 
of his children on an ongoing basis. 

He closed his Bible and wondered if God was pointing him in the
direction the pastor's references seemed to be leading. In the midst of 
these musings Constance appeared in the doorway with Fox In Socks and 
two other well-worn Dr. Seuss books. He motioned her into his lap and 
began to read from memory Green Eggs and Ham. 

That Tuesday evening after he completed grading some papers Kyle began a
survey of what was required of the Levitical priests in terms of 
preparation for their office. 

As she walked past the couch Maddie looked down at what Kyle was reading
and asked, “Leviticus? What are you looking into?” 

“Just following up on those references the pastor gave me Sunday.” 

As he read the accounting of the purification of Aaron and his sons in
Leviticus 8, he wondered at how Aaron had made it to this place. He 
flipped back through the Exodus story and discovered that the last 
mention of Aaron had been at the end of chapter 32: “So the Lord 
plagued the people because of what they did with the calf which Aaron 
made.” Hardly the sort of thing any prospective high priest would want 
on his resume. Like Peter, Paul, David, and countless others down 
through the centuries, Aaron was yet another recipient of God's grace, 
restored to the place where God had called him to be. 

Aaron and sons were washed with water, an act that always carried
purifying symbolism, dressed in clothing befitting their office, and 
then were anointed with a very special mix of oils. Kyle found the 
recipe in Exodus 30 along with the prohibition of its use for anything 
other than the sanctification of priests and the articles associated 
with the tabernacle. The consecration of those ordained to serve in the 
tabernacle was obviously very serious business. 

They were cleansed of their sins and commissioned to be priests in a
series of sacrifices. A bull served as the sin offering, a ram as the 
burnt offering, and another ram used for the consecration of the 
priests. Blood from this ram was placed on the tip of the ear of the 
priest, as if to say he was now commissioned to listen to God. Then it 
was placed on the thumb, the hand being the appendage of work. The 
priest was thus commissioned to do the work of the Lord. Then blood was 
placed on the toe of the priest, perhaps an indication that from this 
point forward he was to walk with God. Finally the priests and their 
garments were sprinkled with anointing oil and blood from the altar, 
symbolically linking them forever with that altar. 

Kyle wondered how this ordination ceremony might be adapted for today.
The sacrificial nature of the ceremony was moot in that Jesus' 
sacrifice on Calvary had made any other form of sacrifice for sin 
unnecessary. But there was the matter of the priest having an ongoing 
right standing before God. The priest needed to be pure before the 
Lord. The only means of purification Kyle could imagine that didn't 
require killing something was confession, so he began making a mental 
list. 

It didn't take him long to realize that placing his hands on the head of
a ram would have been a lot easier than honestly assessing his own 
behavior since coming to know Christ as Savior. Knowing that his 
short-term memory couldn't handle the load, he began listing the things 
that came to mind. The number of things that needed to be confessed 
surprised him. 

During his free period the next day he locked his classroom door and
took out the list. He had been thinking about its contents off and on 
again since the previous evening. His feelings regarding those thoughts 
ranged from fear and shame to frustration that he had allowed himself 
to drift so far off course. 

He thought for a moment about the difference between the shame and
conviction he was feeling. If he had to define it, he would say that 
shame was something that kept a person from looking to God because he 
felt he didn't deserve to be forgiven. But while that logic might seem 
sound in that it is true no one can ever deserve forgiveness, it 
neglects to take into account God's willingness to forgive. He needs 
only to be asked, not convinced. That is where conviction gains the 
upper hand over shame. Instead of driving a wedge between the desire 
for restoration and the impetus to ask for forgiveness, as shame does, 
conviction draws a heart into the very presence of the God who freely 
offers it. 

As he spoke his list to God, admitting many things out loud for the
first time, he wondered at the freeing power of just saying them. By 
admitting to lust, he suddenly felt released from any obligation to 
feel guilt over past inappropriate thoughts. When he acknowledged his 
desire for higher pay and honor in the workplace, he found himself 
feeling quite satisfied with what he did have. 

By the time he made it half way through the list, he was shaking his
head in disbelief that he had been willingly carrying all that extra 
weight around for so long. Odd that he could learn to live so amicably 
with unconfessed sin. 

He thought back to one of his summer jobs when he was in college. He
labored for some block masons and while they worked in the relative dry 
up on scaffolding, he was slogging around in big yellow boots down in 
the mud. By nine in the morning he was carrying eight pounds of mud on 
each foot. What he experienced as he prayed through the list seemed 
oddly similar to what he felt at the end of the workday when he finally 
kicked off those heavy boots. 

Though this exercise in self-examination had not resulted in a complete
cleansing of the spiritual attic, Kyle felt like he had knocked down 
the cobwebs in his soul that he had been most diligently avoiding. He 
also sensed that with the scariest of his past now behind him he could 
confidently ask that other long-forgotten sins be brought to mind and 
be dealt with in similar fashion. 

He anticipated that at first daily confession of sin and repentance
would seem overwhelming. But along with the pain and remorse inherent 
in the process of confession, recent experience had taught that there 
is also pleasure and joy. There was great contentment in knowing that 
God had fully forgiven him of sins that he had long hidden even from 
himself. 

He also knew that if he was to renounce a particular sin he needed to
replace it with something else or he would be harboring a vacuum 
somewhere in his soul. Something would move in to replace the void and 
if he didn't make specific provision for what entered that empty space 
it could be filled by anything. That might even include one of the sins 
he had struggled to confess, especially since it already fit the shape 
of the vacuum inside him. 

So what was the motivator for the 21st century priest? In his Leviticus
study he learned that the priesthood was conferred upon a single family 
by the command of God, an obligation that would continue from 
generation to generation. But there were perks and benefits associated 
with that obligation, making the true motivation for their service a 
little hard to pin down. 

Perhaps this question was best answered by the examples of those who
served in the office of priest before any such office existed. Why did 
Noah, Abraham, and Job accept the mantle of the priest for their 
families? Why does any father change a diaper, read a story, insist on 
proper behavior? Maybe love is the best of all motives. 

What would the single most loving thing be for him to do on behalf of
his family? Certainly it would be something that wasn't easy. Nothing 
worthwhile ever is. And given the struggle he had just endured in 
confessing long-ignored sins, he thought that maybe prayer is the least 
effortless of all activities.   He had felt his flesh fight against the 
urge to humbly open himself up before God. And there is no place 
secluded enough that distractions and diversions won't creep in to keep 
the sincere heart from spending time at the foot of the cross. 

Thirty seconds before his free period ended he committed to making
prayer for the spiritual and physical needs of his wife and daughter 
his primary means of expressing his love toward them. He acknowledged 
that this could not be something he did for a season but that any 
commitment in this direction had to be as life-long as the 
relationships that urged him to make this pledge. 

As he unlocked his door and prepared to discuss the Industrial
Revolution, it occurred to him that prayer would fit agreeably into 
just about any shaped vacuum. 

That evening he spent a lot of time talking with Maddie about how things
were going at the City of Refuge shelter, the church's ministry to 
victims of domestic violence. She admitted to many levels of 
frustration when dealing with government requirements for the facility, 
balancing the idiosyncrasies of the people housed at the shelter to 
keep peace among the ersatz family they now belonged to, and the 
mountain of paperwork required to secure grant money. Plenty to pray 
about there, he thought. 

When she informed him that a new security system had been successfully
installed, he recalled an incident from three years earlier when a pimp 
by the name of Carlos had gained access to the facility and had 
brutalized one of the residents upon whom he felt he had a prior claim. 
Prayer for Maddie's personal safety would be a constant during all 
Kyle's future appointments in the holy of holies. 

He determined to pray that Constance would see in her parents a love for
God that she would eventually emulate until it became as real for her 
as it was for he and Maddie. 

At four thirty the following morning Kyle found himself both awake and
unable to force another forty-five minutes of sleep. Rather than fight 
it he pulled out his book light, a six-volt DC bulb that was enough to 
read by yet not enough to disturb a sleeping spouse. He returned to the 
seventh chapter of Hebrews where he had been reading about the 
insufficiency of the Jewish priesthood compared to that of Christ. When 
he reached 7:25, “Therefore he is able to save completely those who 
come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for 
them...” a thought caught him by surprise. 

If Kyle was to be an imitator of Christ and Jesus was even now
interceding for His people before the throne, then it was a wholly 
natural thing for him to intercede for his people, Maddie and 
Constance. After returning the bedroom to near complete darkness, he 
rolled over, placed an arm across Maddie's hip and began thanking God 
for these two women and the opportunity to pray on their behalf. 


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