Friday, December 3
“How great the condescension of God and His compassion for His erring creatures in thus placing the beautiful rainbow in the clouds as a token of His covenant with men! The Lord declares that when He looks upon the bow, He will remember His covenant. This does not imply that He would ever forget; but He speaks to us in our own language, that we may better understand Him. It was God's purpose that as the children of after generations should ask the meaning of the glorious arch which spans the heavens, their parents should repeat the story of the Flood, and tell them that the Most High had bended the bow and placed it in the clouds as an assurance that the waters should never again overflow the earth. Thus from generation to generation it would testify of divine love to man and would strengthen his confidence in God.” Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 106
Since the founding of Christianity, there has never been a church that has partaken of the wealth and creature comforts that the church in some countries of the world enjoys today. The question is, At what cost? Such affluence surely influences our spirituality — and not for the good either. How could it? Since when have wealth and material abundance fostered the Christian virtues of self-denial and self-sacrifice? In most cases, the opposite occurs: the more people have, the more self-sufficient they become, and the less they tend to depend upon God. Wealth and prosperity, however nice, do come with many dangerous spiritual traps.
Discussion Questions:
1. Discuss the question of how wealth (which can be very relative; that is, someone not deemed wealthy in his country might be seen as super-rich by those in another one) and how it impacts our spirituality. What are ways that those “with money” can protect themselves from some of the spiritual dangers that wealth can create?
2. In class talk about the closing scenes in Christ’s life and what they tell us about God’s love for us and why we must never forget the reality of that love. What other things can you think of that reveal the goodness of God, and why we should always keep this reality in mind?
3. Though some scientists say there was no world-wide flood, despite the Bible’s saying that there was (and the rainbow), some say there was no six-day creation, either, despite the Bible’s saying that there was (and the seventh-day Sabbath to memorialize it). What should this tell us about how powerful, and negative, the impact of culture can be on faith?
