We like to watch old television shows. Recently, we enjoyed one of The Waltons’ series titled “The Burden.”  The mischievous youngest son, Jim-Bob, had decided to become a preacher following a shocking accident from which he has a narrow escape. This decision is met with skepticism from his family who knows Jim-Bob for a jokester and sort of a bad boy.

Jim-Bob is undeterred. He studies his Gramma’s bible, sprouts proper Bible verses, seeks entrance to seminary, gives away all his earthly goods and goes off to live in the woods eating locust and wild honey. Now the family is worried.

After an encounter with one of his side-kicks, Jim-Bob decides that he has failed to let his light shine and keep his hand to the plow.  His friend, Tinker, had pointed out serious events that they had taken part in together. Jim-Bob gets so mad that he takes a swing at his friend.

His wise father finds him sitting in the woods and works out the real reason for this abrupt change of attitude. Jim-Bob explains that during the accident, when everything went black, he had a message that if he had behaved differently in his short life, his grandmother would not have had a stroke, his grandfather would not have died, his mother would not have developed tuberculosis and his brother-in-law would not have died at Pearl Harbor. Wow! That’s quite a burden for a anyone to bear.

Ralph Walton explains that he has felt that way as well. As Ralph presents it: you cannot blame yourself for the things that happen in this life. You cannot put yourself in the center. You have to take things as they come and keep going.

How often have we done this ourselves? Put ourselves in the center; in the driver’s seat; assumed that it is all because of our behavior that harm has happened.  Now, it does happen that bad things may happen to loved ones because of some action on our part and if this action is intentional and meant to harm, we are to blame and repentance is necessary.  However, death in war, strokes or TB are not punishments imposed on loved ones by a God, who loves us unconditionally, for the bad behavior of a relative.  

Although Jim-Bob did not become a preacher, he learned a valuable lesson and remained faithful throughout his life. His faith was a source of strength for all who knew him.

May your faith be a source of strength for you. Remember that God loves you unconditionally.

Terri