2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
We continue examining the model for attitudes and actions that our Lord and Savior established for us during His earthly incarnation. We share the privilege of being participants in the Covenant of Grace with Him and are blessed by the example He set for us. That example allows us to know how to become one with His divine nature, essential information revealed to us which allows us to be forwarded in the process of sanctification while at the same time taking God up on his invitation to join Him in His work. In the previous messages, Christ showed us in the Parable of the Good Samaritan the importance of being kind [LK 10: 25-37]. We also looked at His example of compassion in the story of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in JN 11:1-44. In the powerful lessons He gave us by washing the feet of the disciples in JN 13: 1-20, Christ demonstrated humility. Now, let’s look at some more of His God-given, life-giving traits which contain more valuable lessons for us.
It is a fact that many adults lose patience when little children make noise or demand things from us. This is particularly true as we get older. Christ had an important lesson for all of us when He responded to some little children who must have been making noise outside the synagogue when their parents brought them there to be blessed by the Lord. MK 10: 13-15, “Some people brought children to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them, but the disciples scolded the people. When Jesus noticed this, He was angry and said to His disciples, ‘Let the children come to Me, and do not stop them, the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I assure you that whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.’ Then He took the children in His arms, placed His hands on each of them, and blessed them.” [This same story is also found in MT 19: 13-15 and LK 18: 15-17]. Christ’s gentleness is an important lesson here, as is His love of little children. No matter what our agendas may be at any point in time, Christ is reminding us that children are a gift given to us by the Father that come along with the responsibility to nurture, have patience for, teach, and love them. Just how important this is to the Father is revealed in DT 6: 5-7, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Never forget these commands that I am giving you today. Teach them to your children. Repeat them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working.”
I am reminded of the challenges to my patience that my own son provided. He was an active child who was incredibly inquisitive. One day when he was just under two years old, he decided that he wanted to cook like me and do household repairs like had had seen me do. His way of doing this was to drag a chair over to the stove, get out one of the pots I had given him to play with, climb up, place the pot on a burner, and load his miniature toy cars into the pot. Within 30 seconds of his turning the stove on high, I was racing to see why the kitchen smelled of burning rubber (from the tires on those cars)! His foray into repairs not long after that was to take one of my screwdrivers, pry off the safety cover I had so carefully put over the electrical socket, and begin to insert the screwdriver in it. Needless to say, I raced over to stop him in the nick of time before he was zapped with 110 volts! As I look back on those challenges so long ago (my son is about to be 30), I marvel at how God equipped me with the energy and patience to deal with them. But, that is what He does. When a young mother is trying to control a young child having a temper tantrum, it is hard to be thinking about what God has planned for that child later in life and about preparing him or her to enter His Kingdom. But, our God-given responsibility is to do just that-to prepare our children to love God, to be faithful, and to be responsible, obedient participants in the Covenant of Grace. If we can set an example of love, gentleness, and patience with our children, then they can have this Christ-like example to follow.
Our Lord is a kind and gentle soul. He has offered us, His former enemies, eternal life [RO 5: 10-11]. Throughout mankind’s history, He had had to put up with striking disobedience and disrespect from those He created. Had there not been this kind of gentleness in His nature, the intercessory prayers on their behalf by Moses, Daniel, and others would have been ignored. In that case, God’s wrath would have been enough to bring mankind’s total destruction. But, that is not what the Lord did. Instead, He has continued trying to teach, encourage, bless, correct, and love mankind [2 TIM 3: 16-17]. Repeatedly, He has told us as He does in JER 31: 33-34 what His real agenda is for us. “I will put My law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. None of them will have to teach his fellow countryman to know the Lord, because all will know Me, from the least to the greatest. I will forgive them their sins and I will no longer remember their wrongs. I, the Lord, have spoken.” These are the precious words of a loving, gentle Abba Who calls us to use His Son as our model for how to live and Who courageously gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to hang on the cross so that we could be saved from our sins.
PRAYER: O Lord, we acknowledge that the privileges You give us are balanced by responsibilities. When we are given children by You (whether adopted or by natural birth), You place Your trust in us that we will rear them to love You and be faithful to You. If we have not done that well, then we confess that and ask You to forgive us and be a Presence for good in their lives. If we have been responsible parents, then we thank You for giving us the compassion, patience, energy, and faithfulness to have done so. We know that parenting is one of the greatest and most important tasks we can ever have. As Christ showed gentleness and patience toward the little children brought to Him to be blessed, we should show that same attitude toward the children, grandchildren, or any children in our lives. You Son’s example showed us what Your will is. We are blessed by that lesson if we heed it well and also bless others. Just as You have been gentle and kind to mankind when they were faithful to You, we should mirror that example toward our fellow man and toward You. That is one way that we can be responsible participants in the Covenant of Grace that You have made with us. That is how we can show that the sacrifice You made of Your Son on the cross was not made in vain. We humbly and reverently approach You to offer our heartfelt worship, adoration, loyalty, diligence of faith, trust, obedience, glory, honor, praise, and thanks. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
Tomorrow, I am led to continue discussing Christ’s example that leads us to an understanding of how to become one with His divine nature. God’s profound love is demonstrated in inviting us to participate in His Covenant of Grace. When we respond with faithfulness and willingness to keep His commands, we respond to His sovereignty in a way which pleases Him. Our obedience is a measure of the love we have for God. We need never wonder how He feels about each of us. His love for each is is real, dynamic, consistent, deep, and eternal. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn