Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him. (Luke 9:7-9)
Before my husband and I were married, he went to a firm party where one of the older partners and his wife were dancing. One of the young associates was drunk and started singing, The Old Gray Mare She Ain’t What She Used to Be.
There isn’t much to be gained from getting drunk at a party when you’re impressing the wrong people. Herod promised his step daughter/niece while she was dancing seductively that she could have anything, up to half his kingdom as a reward, so she chose what her mother wanted, John the Baptist’s head on a platter. The consequences for my husband’s peer were less dramatic. He was fired.
In his drunken state, Herod was too weak to stand up for justice in front of the influential people attending his birthday party. He chose to avoid humiliation but, in the process, lost his soul. Can you imagine Herod’s fright thinking of retaliation when his advisers told him Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead? Herod surrounded himself with people like himself. None of them had a clue who Jesus was or where to find Him, even though Jesus was quite public and not hard to find. Herod wanted to see Jesus, not to get to know Him but to make sure he wasn’t a threat.
Dearest Heavenly Father, thank you for giving me friends and family who inspire me to follow Jesus and spread His love. Watch over me and keep me from entering into a situation where Satan can use me to harm myself and others. I pray in Jesus’ name, amen.
We should be surrounding ourselves with people that we love and lift us up. Sometimes we have no control about who surrounds us. I had no choice who I was surrounded by when I worked. I was always grateful that my place of work was filled with loving people that cared about their job and the welfare of the children that we served. We also have no control on who surrounds us when it comes to family. We are born to a mother and father and sometimes have siblings. Then we marry and have in-laws. You and I were fortunate to be born to a mother and father who loved us and took care of us. That does not always happen, and over the years I saw way too many children that came from horrible unloving homes. My in-laws and sister-in-law were miserable people and unhappy people. We spent more years not talking to them than talking to them. We didn’t want to be around them as they brought so much unhappiness to our relationship. For a long time I was miserable over family that made so much unhappiness for us. Now, I realize that it was/is OK not to have a relationship with people who created so unhappiness, even when they are family. Instead of feeling ashamed of the situation, I now feel that Jesus lead us in the right direction.
I’m so glad you’ve had healing in regard to your in-laws. God wants us to be happy. He wants the chance to guide us in family situations. We pray and wait and put our family situations on hold while God works a miracle. Sometimes he works it on earth and sometimes it happens in heaven. I am so thankful for Mom and Dad and you and your family and, of course, my husband and three wonderful children and their spouses and girlfriend! Love you, Sis!