Editorial August 8, 1988 Issue

Family promises

Michael D. Rissler

The metaphor of marriage or family is often used in the Bible to symbolize the children of Israel's relation to God. And the metaphor is often just as storm-tossed as human marriage and family life themselves sometimes seem to be. The Bible tells about challenging times, times when people didn't remain faithful to God's law. In fact, accounts of spiritual and moral victories frequently seem all too brief. Perhaps the reason for this is that success needs less comment. Or maybe another way of looking at it is that the challenges that precede triumph over error beg for careful delineation of the decisions that take place along the way.

People can make awful mistakes. And sometimes when we begin to see even slightly our foolishness and the injury we've inflicted, the remorse can be so great that like Moses, who fled into exile, we want to flee from facing the possible consequences.

Moses had to overcome his fear. He had to face the belief that evil can overpower good. When Moses finally felt God's call, he came to grips with the content of his own thought. Many years had passed since his flight from Egypt to Midian. And now his moral awakening had brought him to the point of return. This time to play a crucial role in leading the children of Israel to their moral and spiritual liberation.

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