When One and One make Three - Salvation Through Raising a Family

Can salvation from the corruption of this life be gained by raising a Christian family? Do we really need to sell everything we have and give to the poor? How does a Christian mother and father express the name of Jesus within the family unit?

With those questions asked, what do you do when you sell something? Did Jesus say to sell all your possessions and give to the poor? Yes. What did he mean in a spiritual sense? To sell, you transfer good or services to others. With this, you generate the reward you give away. This has nothing to do with poverty or removing yourself from the goodness God provides from hard work. It has everything to do with how you transfer your goods and services (Fruit of Gifts) to others.

Think on this.

I have used this example many times on ATS to show how the will to give and receive is superior to the will to take. God shows us this example in every Word of the Bible. Here are my examples of the law of returns:

Smoke and you get cancer. The debt caused by taking the reward for yourself brings suffering. Instead, suffer on purpose. Suffer the work to gain the reward and what you have can be transferred to others as the gift you give. Work a job and your family eats. Live healthy and exercise often and health is gained. Why do you die when you smoke and live longer when you stay healthy? Other than the obvious reasons, the same law applies to working a job and transferring what is earned as a gift to the family. When a father dies of lung cancer, the family suffers, not to mention the expense of the habit. By suffering on purpose and transferring this to the family as a gift, the reward is shared by everyone involved. These two simple examples can then be spread out across all our choices in life. As the wheel turns, the Ox pulls the cart. As you will see by the end of this thread, that bit of wisdom is something shared throughout the ages.

This gets us back to what God intends for us and demonstrates by His own actions. Give and receive only. Never take. What does the average family man and woman do each day of the week? They suffer loss for the reward of others. No gift can be given unless it is first earned. What is earned can also be wasted on selfish ambitions and pursuits. Self-gratifying behavior, idle thoughts and poor choices squander opportunity. Who suffers when what is earned is taken?

What does the average hardworking family do? They honor the bond of marriage and then work hard to provide for their family. What is earned is then transferred to their family as the reward of labor and the toil of raising a family. In a Christian family, this is done to honor what was first given to us by God. Salvation comes to the mother in this manner.

1 Timothy 2

13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15 But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.

"They" are the children. A mother that raises children who are faithful, loving, holy and possessing moral propriety will be saved by the labor of what she gives. What of the man? Who stands at the entrance of the tent to protect the family? As you will see, the first few letters of the Hebrew language tell the story.

The first letter is the (aleph - A), a picture of an ox. As the ox is strong, the letter also has the meaning of strong. The second letter, (bet - B), is the picture of the tent or house where the family resides. When combined these letters form the word AB meaning "the strength of the house" and represents the "father."

The first letter is the (aleph - A), a picture of an ox. As the ox is strong, the letter also has the meaning of strong. The second letter, (mem - M) representing water. The two letters give us the meaning of "strong water." The Hebrews made glue by boiling animal skins in water. As the skin broke down, a sticky thick liquid formed at the surface of the water. This thick liquid was removed and used as a binding agent - "strong water". This is the Hebrew word AM meaning "mother", the one who "binds" the family together.

The first letter is the (bet - B), a picture of a tent or house. The second letter, (nun - N) is the picture of a seed. The seed is a new generation of life that will grow and produce a new generation therefore, this letter can mean "to continue." When combined these two letters form the word BeN meaning "to continue the house" and is the Hebrew word for a "son."

The first letter is the (aleph - A), a picture of an ox. As the ox is strong, the letter also has the meaning of strong. The second letter, (hhet - Hh), is the picture of a tent wall. The wall is a wall of protection which protects what is inside from what is outside. When combined these letters form the word AHh meaning "the strong wall" and represents the "brother" as the protector of the family.

As I give you evidence for God's story set by the Hebrew letters and roots, realize that the first thought of God in his Word is for the Family. Do your thoughts match? Is it time they do?

Father is the OX

Buddha / Dhammapada

Chapter 1 - Choices

We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
Speak or act with an impure mind
And trouble will follow you
As the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart.

The Ox is pulls the cart. The Wheel is the circle of life. "You must be born again." The Cart is the burden of raising the next generation. How well does the Father raise his next generation? What you give is what you get.

So, is works how we earn salvation? No. Faith and God's Grace is how we gain salvation as the gift God gives. The part I list above is the part that reflects the name we take. A name is character. Taking the name requires the character or faith is dead. The name can be taken in vain.

Anything worth working for is worth giving away to those who matter most. We all give to our families, but when we give to those in need, we extend our family beyond the walls of our own tents. This is what Jesus meant by these words:

Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

To sell, you must transfer what you have to others. To have something to sell, you must first earn the gift you give.

Is it possible for someone who has taken all their life to still be saved? Can a person who destroys their family still find forgiveness from God? Can the rich, by the world's standards, still find mercy?

Matthew 19

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”