Lesson 9, May 25-31
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Mark 5:22-24, 35-43; 1 Peter 5:6, 7; Genesis 37:17-28; Luke 16:13, Romans 6:16; 1 Corinthians 15:26.
Memory Text: “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” Philippians 3:8, NKJV
The moment Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they experienced their first loss, the loss of innocence. And this lost innocence was replaced with selfishness, conflict, blame, and a desire for control and supremacy over each other. Shortly after the Fall, they witnessed the first loss of life when they were given animal skins to cover their nakedness. Banned from access to the tree of life lest they eat and live forever, they also lost their perfect garden home, and years later they lost their son, Abel, at the hands of his brother, Cain. At the end, one of them lost their spouse, and finally the surviving partner lost his/her own life. So many losses came as a result of one decision.
Yes, we all know the reality, and pain, of loss, and most of us feel it the deepest when this loss strikes us in the family. And no wonder, for in the family we have our closest bonds; thus loss there, in its many varied forms, hits us the hardest.
This week, as we continue to look at family life, we will look at it in the context of the various times of loss.
