Tag: Fatherless

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Tripping up a child’s innocence.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew‬ ‭18‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus, answering the disciple’s question, puts a child in front of them and that child becomes an object lesson for his answer. The disciples ask about greatness. Presupposing that Jesus’ kingdom is similar to the great kingdom of King David or even Solomon, it makes sense that the guys would want to know about the royal positions available to be filled. The royal court works on a hierarchy of authority, power and influence. Thinking that Jesus is forming his cabinet as he plans to take over Rome to rule as the promised successor, the messiah that ushers in God’s plan to restore Israel to greatness, they excitedly wait for the answer. Maybe Jesus wouldn’t just talk about positions, he might throw in some hints about the men he’s thinking about appointing to those high places. They must have been so eager to hear his answer.

When Jesus pulled in a child, probably a young boy, and stood him in their midst, they must have been confused. “Who’s this, they might have thought to themselves?” Some random child, we’ve never seen, is going to become the next chancellor (chaplain), chamberlain and or marshal? But Jesus doesn’t intend to install this young child to a future position. In fact, the child already has a highly regarded and treasured position in the Kingdom of God – he’s an innocent kid! He’s not sinless, but he certainly has sinned less than the adult disciples!

In vs 10, Jesus even says that the children have a special protection, ever-watchful eyes of angels that have God’s full attention saying, “their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.” I’m not sure the focus is so much about, being just “like a child,” as it is a harsh warning to watch out for, watch over how one should treat the innocent, the fragile faith of those who are more pure and unprotected. Of course, as adults, we gravitate towards the childlike faith ideals, but Jesus is discussing something far more serious.

Jesus starts by telling his guys to turn from their own sin. Why? Because, it’s well known, but paid little regard – adults, in their pursuit of their own sin cause irreparable damage on the most innocent among us. Haven’t you noticed? How could we not see it? Adults can be full on predators and perpetrators in their own selfish pursuits of getting what they want! The “freedoms” we propose always spiral down to destroy the innocence of the children we are supposed to protect! It’s not just straight out child abuse, abandonment or neglect either. It’s adults making decisions that make a child’s life and home unsafe or filled with chaos and trauma. Adults want their drugs, their drinks, their pleasures, their partners, their addictions and what does the child get? Pain. Confusion. Instability. Adults want and get their “choices,” that children are forced to live with and try to figure out what’s right and wrong on their own.

Of course there are good parents and good adults, but no one is perfect. Jesus made a startling statement when he said, “What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.” He said this right after the famous mafia threat to any who would purposely harm a child – harm a kid and be fitted for a cement necklace to be drown in Lake Tahoe (or Galilee). Even Jesus conversation about losing an eye or hand that sins is directly connected to the evils of playing life so loose that you lead a child down a dark path of death with you.

We want to be great in God’s kingdom? We need to be more conscious, more consistent and careful of who we are and what we do when little eyes are watching and little ears are listening! And, for the love of God – quit pitching our “adult” freedoms to sin as possible life-choices for our little ones! God is watching. Being like a child is being extra careful around those who are childlike, those who are simple and innocent in their faith.

Prayer

Dad,
I saw far too much as a child. Far too much chaos, pain, addiction and broken promises. I heard too much angry, foul language. I did not feel safe or protected. And in observing hundreds of children of foster care, those who were tortured, starved and abandoned, I witnessed the effects of what you hate, what you have warned us about. Our sin has its own consequences. But even worse, it can destroy the little lives around us. Help us God. Rescue the Fatherless and uphold the weak with your strength. Protect our children from our adult sins! Amen.

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Is God a prude?

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“You have heard the law that says, ‘A man can divorce his wife by merely giving her a written notice of divorce.’ But I say that a man who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery. And anyone who marries a divorced woman also commits adultery.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭31‬-‭32‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Only God would go where mortal men fear. This is Jesus, the revolutionary, speaking out on issues that were never spoken about in public. Jesus, being the light of the world, drags the deeds only done in darkness, only whispered behind closed doors, out into the open. No one exposes sin better than God. Is God a prude? Hardly.

He not only created us, but he also gave humans the free will to be and explore everything on the planet as well as everything about our own human body, soul and spirit. However, freedom doesn’t mean exploitation. Freedom doesn’t mean satisfying oneself at the expense and destruction of another. God is far more like a parent than he is catholic school teacher. He loves us.

Jesus dives into the most destructive side of our free will, exposing the dark and callous desires of our unbridled souls. Jesus just finished talking about adultery and put a hard stop on the issue of “thoughts verses physical deeds.” We all know that thoughts, good or bad, lead to behaviors. We do as we think about doing.

Here’s a thought Jesus pulled from our secret souls, “we don’t get to fantasize about destroying relationships by ‘having your way’ with whatever we set our eyes on!” Boom. That’s right. There are selfish sins against God and there’s a bunch of them against each other. The big TEN commandments were boundaries to PROTECT and preserve our relationship with God and one another. In fact four of the rules are about God, six are about each other.

These discussions in Matthew about relationship in sexual desire and covenant commitments in marriage are both about boundaries and behaviors. Yes, men were primarily called out and held responsible because, at that time, they were in power and the main offenders of these rules. God seriously and deeply cares about relationships, and Jesus highlights a couple of our major missteps in how we handle each other. No, a man or woman does not get to mentally strip, invade and exploit another human being just for fun! Neither do we get to make cheap promises.

Jesus goes after the frivolous way we treat our commitments, our covenants between a man and a woman. Moses wrote about a legal way to dissolve a marriage (Deut 24‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬), although we’ve got to keep in mind, God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16). He HATES everything that is destructive to our relationships! Come on, are we not smart enough to figure out the never ending cycles of pain, suffering and financial ruin of our lives that come with divorce? Have we not seen the massive, deep hurts we deposit into children’s lives by dismembering their most trusted bond between their parents? Do we not recognize an entire generation of fatherless children because our parents were so self absorbed to just do whatever they felt like doing? Why are we mad at God and blame him for being a prude when we are obviously so foolish and blind to our own destructive desires and behaviors?

I am not an expert on divorce by any means. However, I had to pick up the broken shards of fragile glass in my own soul. My family, my heritage is littered with divorce and remarriage! My own adopted mother, searching for true love, safety and belonging went shopping for a man FOUR times. With her last attempt at relationship, she just gave up on the covenant of marriage and allowed a live-in looser to suck her life and finances dry for over a decade! I believe that Jesus is not only speaking TRUTH, he is also saving us from the LIES we tell ourselves and others. Here’s the facts, adultery and divorce destroys relationships and are toxic and deadly to everyone involved.

Prayer

Dad,
Forgive us oh God for we know what we do and what harm it causes, but we want to do it anyways. Save our children from our selfish foolishness.

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Who is searching for who?

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“But may all who search for you be filled with joy and gladness in you. May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout, “God is great!” But as for me, I am poor and needy; please hurry to my aid, O God. You are my helper and my savior; O Lord, do not delay.” Psalms‬ ‭70:4-5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

​I often wonder who is looking for God, personally seeking him out. I imagine that most are looking for some answers, rest, peace, especially hope. Even in those suffering moments that folks would look outside themselves and be open to the fact that God is watching over them and in that they’ll find a promise. They will find God when they look for him.

Well before I came to Christ at fifteen, I had a sense that someone was watching out for me, watching over me. It wasn’t in a creepy stalking way, but a gentle parental oversight. Even at a young age I had some really frightening moments and felt something trying to help me, I just didn’t understand him or know how to talk to him or ask for help. I know people think that comes natural to a child, but it didn’t with me. I was never really taught about God or even a general sense that he’s out there. And for sure that sense of God was never modeled in our home. That’s kinda of odd when I think about it because it was my adopted mother who dressed me up and sent me off to a church just down the street when I was probably seven or eight years old. I heard some amazing Bible stories, but never made an association that the Jesus in the Bible could also be in my home. It’s hard to understand because by the time I was a teenager, my older sister and my mom were taking me to church every week! I was attending a church and still could not make sense of this general or for sure this personal God idea. I just thought church people were just that, churchy people. I just went along with my Mom because one, I had too and two, it made her happy.

But at a moment before my life could have turned badly, God found me. I saw a genuineness in the youth my age and it made me curious and I wanted what they had, not really knowing exactly what it was. By the Holy Spirit, God touched a nerve, a soft spot, a loss or ache I had but didn’t know how really deep my pain went. So at fifteen I had a moment to reflect on my life, what had happened to me as well as who I was becoming. I was lost and without anyone to help guide me. When the voice offered me hope I immediately knew who it was. Strange huh? I had never interacted with him before, but then this clear voice was coming through, “if you give me your life, I will be your Dad.” I felt very unworthy, very exposed at that moment. I replied back, “I am nobody and I don’t have anything to offer you.” I felt worthless because of my family history and the really horrible things I had done in the few short teenage years of my life. The voice just spoke the offer again, “give me your life and I will be your Dad.” I broke and said “yes.” I cried a pile of snot and tears and watched a mini-series in my mind of just how awful I had been. I felt a real sense of guilt for my decisions, my behaviors and said I was sorry for all the things I had done. I had been searching for God, but I was not really aware of it. He came and found me just in time and offered me a deal that I couldn’t pass up. After two dads that had failed me and a really crummy dad that would soon come into my mother’s life, I was looking forward to God fathering me. And he has. He kept his promise and I still call him Dad.

PRAYER:

Dad,
Where would I be without you? What would I be if you had not rescued me? I am forever grateful that you had mercy on me and offered me a life, not just a great life here, but an absolutely amazing life with you forever! Thank you.