Preston is about 14 months old; his future is literally wide open in front of him. But even as young as he is, he already is feeling the effects of a broken home. He didn’t ask for it, but for the rest of his life he’ll be living in the Land of Nod.
Gina grew up in the perfect family – at least that’s what everyone believed. But they didn’t hear the verbal and occasional physical abuse Gina suffered growing up. Very few understand the strange combination of anger and shyness that marks her personality today. But the long trail of disrupted friendships and broken romances tell the painful story. Gina is living in the land of Nod.
In the aftermath of history’s first broken relationship, the Bible says that Cain “went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the Land of Nod, on the East of Eden” (Genesis 4:16). As a race, we’ve been living in the aftermath of broken relationships – in the Land of Nod – ever since.
Are We Still That Clueless?
It’s amazing. Thousands of years of history have passed, and we’ve learned an awful lot. These days the knowledge available to the world doubles at rates we measure by minutes rather than centuries. What’s more amazing to me, however, is what we have yet to learn.
We have the technology to build laboratories in space and put volumes of information on a microchip. But we don’t know how to make a neighborhood out of the world.
We don’t seem to understand how to make a family out of a household.
And too often, we don’t how to make a fellowship out of a congregation.
I guess in some ways it’s not surprising – if you’ve spent your entire life in the wake of somebody else’s broken relationships (and most of us have), then the culture and customs of Nod are all we know.
How’d we wind up here, anyway? Well, believe it or not, our predecessors have left some pretty clear trails. Since hindsight is always 20/20, let me show you what I’ve found.
Compromise
Like Cain, when people short-cut their commitment to what they know to be spiritually true, they’re destined for the Land of Nod.
What you believe is important; how you behave is even more important. But the priority you place on your belief and behavior is supreme. If you say you believe the Bible, and even say you try to live by it, but you don’t make loving God your first priority, you are setting yourself up for a bumpy ride to the Land of Nod.
Anger
When people choose to get angry as a reaction to some other feeling, they are one step closer to the Land of Nod.
Anger is always, always a choice. Nobody ever makes you angry.
Anger is always a second-hand emotion. Before you get ticked, you will always feel something else first, if only for a split second.
Anger expresses itself in many different ways, but the result is always the same: unless you release the anger, you will eventually use it to punish someone else for making you feel the way you do.
Blame
When people play the blame game, they are standing at the border of the Land of Nod.
If it weren’t so sad, it would be funny sometimes. I’ve seen people literally destroy their lives, pointing their finger at someone else the whole way. In fact, it’s something of a tradition in Nod: today’s victim becomes tomorrow’s perpetrator. And everybody in Nod just excuses it. After all, it’s not his fault.
A Pathway to Peace
Is there a pathway to peace in the land of Nod? Yes, thank God, there is. No matter how bad the pain, no matter how great the offense, it’s possible to move toward Eden again.
But standing at the entrance to the Pathway of Peace is a cross. It’s ugly, even repulsive. It’s demanding, yet it offers forgiveness and hope.
To be honest, most people in the Land of Nod look at the cross and walk away. But those who have chosen its narrow way have forever received the hope of Heaven, and the promise of peace.
A Call for Peacemakers
Up next: Bringing Hope to the Land of Nod.
Is it possible that you’ve been commissioned to be an ambassador to the Land of Nod? Next time, I’ll share what we’re learning about investing our lives in the healing of broken relationships.
Anybody can be a relationship killer. Maybe you could be one of those that Jesus referred to as the children of God.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I guess that fellowship of sin is going to place us all in the Land of Nod.
In all of human history, ther have been great technologial striin many areas of life , but the human heart has not progressed one bit.
But, as you say, there is a Way to put it all back together again. His name is Jesus. Maybe we’ll never escape all the damage that we have caused and are still causing, in this lifetime. But because of Him the possiblity of finding our true human calling is there, if only imperfectly. One Day, He will perfect it in a lasting way.
Nice job!
Thank you!
steve martins last blog post..Are You ‘up to it’?
Thanks, Steve. I am convinced that this is one of the primary tasks of the redeemed community, the church. We’ll do it imperfectly, sometimes horribly. But it remains our mission to bring hope to the “Land of Nod.”
Andy,
So true, Andy, so true.
Keep up the good work!
– Steve
steve martins last blog post..You can just tell..that’s all.
I have preached people into nodding off, but… We need to be sensitive to those outside the church, like Gina they may be Nodians, or is it Nodites, sent there by the sin of others, perhaps sent there by the church. Great Postthanks.
will hapemans last blog post..Cheery Thoughts for the February Blues
Nodians! I love it! You’ll see that again somewhere down the line.