PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship

A Vision of One Called of God

We have seen that we should not use the Bible merely to influence our children to grow up into fine, moral, proper, and successful young men and women. Our goal and our mission, the divine stewardship given to us as Christian parents-to bring forth young people who realize their worth as God's called race.

The Bible is a means to teach our children to know about the things God has revealed concerning His creation, His love of man, and His requirements of man. In the Old Testament there are many wonderful stories that can be used to impress our children with the significance of our existence as men and our living as Christians. There are many excellent examples of men who were called by God and who lived according to their calling.

In Genesis 37-39 Joseph, the great-grandson of Abraham, confronts sins of anger and lust. Witness Lee writes, "In chapter thirty-seven there is the sin of anger (37:18-28). Joseph's brothers seized the opportunity to give full vent to their anger. This was not an insignificant case of anger. The one Joseph's brothers were plotting to kill was not a thief, but their own brother in the flesh, the dear son of their own father.... In the next chapter, chapter thirty-eight, we have Judah's indulgence in lust, even in incest (38:15-18). After the fall of man, the first issue to come forth was the killing of a brother in the flesh. And the sin that brought in the flood as God's judgment upon the fallen race was the indulgence in lust. These two sins, the sins of murdering a brother in the flesh and of indulging in lust, are repeated here."

The previous issue of Parenthood illustrated how Joseph, through faith in His God behaved in an excellent and marvelous way to overcome one of two huge temptations in his life. In this issue, Witness Lee reviews how Joseph overcame the second of these two snares set for him by God's enemy Satan. Joseph's strength to stand against temptation was based on the vision of his calling. Our children must be trained to be courageous in the faith of their calling to withstand temptations.

Christian young people need to be assured that they are vessels to contain God. Therefore, they should purpose in their hearts not to defile themselves in this world. We conclude this issue with another example to follow, Daniel and his friends.

II. LIVING AS A STAR OF LIGHT

A. His Brother Judah Indulging in Lust

The second gross sin, the indulgence in lust, also afforded Joseph an opportunity. The indulgence in lust seen in chapter thirty-eight is a symbol of darkness. In this chapter Judah was utterly in darkness. Judah behaved in a blind way, and blindness signifies darkness. If he had not been in blindness, in darkness, how could he have committed adultery with his daughter-in-law? Where was his conscience? Where was his eyesight? His eyes had been blackened and blinded, and he was in darkness. That evil woman in chapter thirty-nine, the wife of Potiphar, was also in darkness. If she had not been in darkness, how could she have behaved in such an evil way? Thus, in chapters thirty-eight and thirty-nine we have a portrait of darkness.

B. Joseph Overcoming Lust, Shining in Darkness

But in the midst of this darkness we see Joseph as a bright star shining in the heavens (39:7-12). Conducting himself as a shining star, Joseph seemed to be saying, "All you people are under darkness, but I am shining upon you. How can I, a bright star, do such a dark thing? I cannot forget my dream. My dream controls me and directs me. As a heavenly star, I would never sell my position." If you have this light as you come to these chapters, you will see that Joseph was one who lived a life that corresponded to his vision. Joseph was not only a dreamer; he was also one who practiced, one who lived out, what he saw in his dream.

As today's Josephs, we also must have some dreams. Others should say that we are dreamers. Many of my Christian friends consider me a dreamer. In talking about the overcoming life and the practice of the church life, they have said to me, "Brother Lee, these are wonderful ideas, but they are just dreams. No one can live such a victorious life on this earth, and it is impossible to have the practice of the church life. We must wait for that day. Let's not dream any more. Rather, let's wake up from the dreams." But I not only have dreams-I practice what I see in my dreams. You may think that I am merely a dreamer, but I am also one who fully puts my dreams into practice. I can testify that it is very possible to have an overcoming life and to have the practical church life. This is not simply my dream; it is my practice and my experience. Like Joseph, I have had some dreams, the dream of the sheaves and of the bright stars. By the Lord's mercy, I have lived according to my dreams. I have behaved and conducted myself according to the vision I have seen. Although some say, "These are merely dreams without any possibility of fulfillment," I must declare that these are heavenly revelations of the facts. Do you not believe that the victorious life is entirely possible? And do you not believe that the practical church life is available today? We are not dreaming in vain. We have a vision that controls us.

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