Could you help me with I Cor. 11 as far as the head covering or not covering?  How long/short should the hair be?  Why is there such a multitude of different interpretations on this passage?  Also, if you choose to wear a covering, do you only wear it in the assembly or every time you pray as well?  A girl we worship with ALWAYS has a "hat" on.  Just curious for some clarification; thanks!

Sincerely,
In Over My Head

Dear In Over My Head,

Women must always have their heads covered while praying (1 Cor 11:5), but God has built into every woman a permanent head-covering – her hair (1 Cor 11:15).  God designed men and women differently… this should be no surprise to anyone that has ever dealt with the opposite gender!  Men are to be the leaders in the home (Eph 5:23) and the church (Tit 1:5-6).  Women are the heart of the family (Tit 2:4-5), and men are not complete without them (1 Cor 11:12).  Both genders are equal heirs of salvation, but they are designed with different strengths and roles (1 Pet 3:7).  One way that God signifies this is by having men look different from women.  When women have long hair and men have short hair – it pleases God (1 Cor 11:14-15).  There are varying degrees of long and short hair, but ultimately – men are to look like men, and women are to look like women.  This principle is even borne out in the Old Testament (Deut 22:5).  The teachings of 1 Cor 11:1-16 are simply teaching that a woman’s long hair is a God-given covering for her head, and men are not to have that same covering due to their varying roles in leadership.  The confusion over those verses is caused by people not paying attention to 1 Cor 11:15 when it says that a woman’s “hat” is her long hair.

Are there any scriptures in the Bible to give clues as to why parents of multiple children tend to be hardest on the oldest child, and how can we as parents avoid this pattern?

Sincerely, Multiple Children

Dear Multiple Children,

Your question assumes that being “hard” on children is a bad thing. The Scriptures, in fact, seem to emphasize the opposite. There is only one verse that cautions parents against frustrating their children (Col 3:21); provoking children is definitely wrong. Yet there are many, many verses encouraging parents to firmly train up their children in the way of the Lord.

1. If we love our children, we chasten them (Pr 13:24).
2. Train your child and prepare them for the future (Pr 22:6).
3. Don’t withhold spanking your child (Pr 23:13).
4. Children that aren’t punished bring shame (Pr 29:15).
5. Children are to be taught obedience (Eph 6:1, Col 3:20).
6. Parents that discipline are worthy of reverence (Heb 12:9)

This isn’t to say that parents can’t be too hard on kids, but the tendency of society is typically the opposite. We are far more likely to indulge the foolish behavior of children than we are to take the time to train and chasten them. It is inconvenient to raise godly children. The key is to train them based off of the Scriptures and not out of anger or convenience. When the Scriptures are the guide to parenting, we are much more likely to be consistent with all of our children. God is a fair and just parent (Pr 11:1), and the more we study how He disciplines and loves us the better parents we become (Heb 12:6-8).

     My daughter died at five years old.  Do you know anywhere in the Bible where it says if children grow up or stay children in heaven?

Sincerely,
Waiting To See Her

Dear Waiting To See Her,

The Bible doesn’t tell us much about what it will be like in heaven, but we do know that all children go to heaven.  When David’s son died, David made it clear that his son was in heaven (2 Sam 12:23).  You can have complete confidence that your daughter will be there, too.

We also know that we will have totally different bodies when we get to heaven, and that may affect things with your daughter – after all, a large part of what makes children child-like is their bodies and the growing and learning that accompanies those bodies growing and changing.  1 Cor 15:47-49 says that in heaven, we will have spiritual bodies better suited for eternity.  We can’t tell you exactly what your daughter will be like in heaven, but even if she starts out with the spirit of a child, she’ll have eternity to learn and grow just like all the rest of us.

When taking the communion, should you physically "break the bread"?

Sincerely, Not Enough Crumbs

Dear Not Enough Crumbs,

We must break the bread like Jesus did, by sharing it with others who are also taking the Lord’s Supper. The term ‘break the bread’ can mean two things:

1. Physically separating a loaf of bread (Acts 27:35)
2. To have a meal, share food (Acts 2:46)

When we take the Lord’s Supper, we use Christ’s example as our guide.Christ took the bread first and then the juice (Matt 26:26-27) – so we do it in the same order. Jesus used grape juice, so we use grape juice (Matt 26:29). So if Jesus physically broke the bread as part of the Lord’s Supper, we should to. The example we see is that Jesus gave thanks for the bread and then broke the bread to share it with the disciples (Matt 26:26). So when we take the Lord’s Supper, we are to do the same thing… share the bread with the other christians assembled. Without being too dogmatic on the point, the bread gets broken, by default, every time other christians take some from the loaf. The emphasis isn’t on who breaks the bread - but on us all sharing the meal together (1 Cor 10:16-17).

In what ways does Jesus fulfill the symbolism underlying the Feast of Tabernacles?

Sincerely, Sign Of The Times

Dear Sign Of The Times,

There is no direct allusion to Jesus in the Feast of Tabernacles, only distant connections. The Feast of Tabernacles (also known as the Feast of Booths) was one of three Jewish festivals that all the men of Israel were required to attend in Jerusalem (Deu 16:16-17). The Feast was eight days long, seven days plus a Sabbath day, and required all Israelites to leave their homes and live in tents/booths (Lev. 23:39-40). The purpose of this was to commemorate how their ancestors had lived forty years in the wilderness and to acknowledge how God provided for them in that desolate region of the world (Lev 23:42-43).

The Jews used the feast to remember how God provided manna in the wilderness. In the New Testament, we are told that Jesus is the true manna for the soul (Jhn 6:49-51). The Jews dwelled in temporary shelters while in the wilderness until God took them to the Promised Land. Christians dwell in temporary tents, our physical bodies, until we are given heavenly bodies (2 Cor 5:1-4). These connections are not necessarily direct symbolism found in the Feast of Tabernacles, but they are parallels between the New Testament church and Old Testament Israel.