God's Got Us

God's Got Us

Introduction

Until 1973, when a drunk driver hit and destroyed it, in the middle of the Sahara desert, there stood a solitary acacia tree, named Tree of Ténéré.

This solitary tree had roots that stretched down 130 feet to a water supply deep under the desert floor. It was a wonder, a miracle in the desert. Long after desertification had taken all of its fellow trees, this lone tree held on and grew deep. It was considered sacred by all those who passed by because of its ability to live where no other trees did. Its roots kept it.

Redwoods are found growing together unlike the lone acacia tree. The redwoods' roots are usually only about five or six feet deep, but their roots do something that the solitary acacia could not do. Their roots intertwine and they share the sunlight and the nutrients with one another. Those who study trees have come to realize that in networks like these, even tree stumps continue to live and contribute because of this interconnected web of life. Like trees, we need one another.

John Donne wrote in his Devotions on Emergent Occassions the memorable lines:

"No man is an island, Entire of itself; Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, As well as if a promontory were: As well as if a manor of thy friend's Or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee."

The writer of Ecclesiastes (4:9-12 NKJV) said, "Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls,For he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken."

There is a oneness of humanity that the longer we live with one another, the more our root systems become intertwined, we find ourselves shaping one another's lives in ways that we do not expect.

We hear this knitting together of two individual human lives and generations of Christians' lives in the opening verses of Paul's letter to a young pastor named Timothy:

TEXT:2 Timothy 1:1-12 (NRSV)

To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. For this reason I remind you to rekindle the GIFT of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; 7 for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a SPIRIT of power and of love and of self-discipline. 8 Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher, 12 and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him.

Tender and encouraging words from the apostle that remind young Timothy and us what God has not given us, what He has, and what God does with what we give in trust to him. Paul realizes he is not alone and wants Timothy and us to realize the same.

"I got you" is a phrase that is often used to mean "I understand" or "I've got it covered." It is often used to reassure someone that a situation or problem has been taken care of, or to indicate that someone has a firm grasp on what is being discussed or done. (https://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=mcafee&type=E211US1441G0&p=I%27ve+got+you+meaning)