Sibling rivalry
- Gary Fritsch
- Feb 26
- 2 min read
One of the critical consequences of being cast out of the Garden of Eden is that we are then plunged into a finite world. In the garden, there was only abundance, including abundance of life. When we enter the finite, what follows is competition. When resources are scarce, we feel we need to fight over every scrap, and this includes non-material things like time, attention and...love. We see the impact immediately as Cain murders Abel in jealousy over God's perceived attention and affection.
In this world, we find the idea of eternal life and unbounded love to be foreign concepts. When we live in scarcity, we become jealous. If they have more, then I have less - it is a simple equation right? The apostles find themselves jealous because others bring about good things in the name of Jesus - but that's their role. Those people didn't earn it, the apostles were the ones who had travelled with Jesus and even endured some hardships with Him. The work of these others (although clearly good) was somehow taking away from the apostles.
Jesus has to constantly remind us of the abundance of the garden, and that it is intended for us. He says basically: 'boys, boys, there is plenty to go around.' He wants them to feel as though they are so blessed that their cup is filled to overflowing, and therefore they would not worry about the overflow. Jesus speaks of this as "a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14) This is the essence of having life and having it to the full as Jesus will speak about later in chapter 15 of John's Gospel.
So, let's replace sibling rivalry with sibling REVELRY. Rejoicing in every way that God shows abundance for us and everyone else. Every time God blesses someone in any way, we should rejoice - He's not going to run out.
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