Friday, December 8

Legacy

Narrative Lectionary Daily Devotions written by Kace Leetch from Clergy Stuff.

Finally, Daniel is able to interpret the king's dream! The dream has been plaguing the king, and now he will finally learn its meaning. The interpretation reveals that, while this king's reign will last, each following reign will be weaker and weaker until one day the people of Israel will once again return to power. 

This brings up an interesting question. Is this good news or bad news for the king? On the one hand, it's great news for the reigning king -- his reign will last through his lifetime. On the other hand, what he has accomplished and has established will only weaken with time -- what will his legacy be for his people?

It also begs the question, is this good news or bad news for Israel? On the one hand, God promises there will be a day when Israel will be restored. On the other hand, it won't happen during the lifetimes of the Israelites alive at the time. 

Hurry up and wait, it seems. It's a promise of a redemption they will never see. Is it a redemption worth waiting for? Worth fighting for?

I think yes. There are many things I wish for successive generations. I hope for so much for my kids that I will never see. Technologically, financially, politically, socially, religiously, environmentally -- there are improvements that can be made across the board. I can either strive to get as much for myself as I can, or I can choose to fight to make all of these better for my kids. The choices we make now will have lasting effects. What choices will you make?

Narrative Lectionary Text: Daniel 2:36-45

“This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. You, O king, the king of kings—to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory, into whose hand he has given human beings, wherever they live, the wild animals of the field, and the birds of the air, and whom he has established as ruler over them all—you are the head of gold. After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over the whole earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; just as iron crushes and smashes everything, it shall crush and shatter all these. As you saw the feet and toes partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but some of the strength of iron shall be in it, as you saw the iron mixed with the clay. As the toes of the feet were part iron and part clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so will they mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall this kingdom be left to another people. It shall crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever; just as you saw that a stone was cut from the mountain not by hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great God has informed the king what shall be hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation trustworthy.”