children

Letting Them Fly

/ pastorpete51 / 12 Comments

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Psalm 127:4 ESV

One pitfall of growing older is wishing we could hold on to our children (both spiritual and physical). We loved the days when we held them on our laps to tell them stories. Such longing too quickly turns to depression, guilt or blaming someone for the change. But as today’s verse tells us, our offspring are not furniture for our homes or precious jewels to be kept in a safe deposit box. They are arrows which the good Lord has entrusted to our hands for a season. Arrows that stay in the quiver during life’s battles aren’t doing what God intended.

Of course, we innately know this about the kiddos who grow up in our homes. The big guy with the cowboy hat is our youngest son and we are delighted that he isn’t sleeping on our sofa eating nachos and watching tv! But, for those of us who have served in ministry it is far more difficult with spiritual children. We pray for them, weep with them, visit them in the hospital and eat at the same table in their homes. And then one day they are gone. It feels as if we did all the hard work and someone else now gets to enjoy the benefits! But the reality is they never belonged to us at all. They were God’s and He gave us the enormous privilege of having them as arrows in our hands for just a little while. We have put them on our bowstring, aimed them at the target and now they are flying towards the goal that God has for them. Be encouraged today that whether you are struggling in letting go of natural or spiritual children, that God keeps records. They may think of us little, never call or even remember that we taught them to fly. But flying is what God has intended. It is a beautiful sight, and He always remembers and rewards our labor of love!

Asking Dad

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him. Matthew 7:11 ESV

Today’s verse reminded me of how our sons would ask for things when they were children. Every request began the same way, “Daddy (or Mommy if I already said no!), can I have…?” As they grew, the scale of their requests grew. At two, they would ask for a cookie, at twelve, they needed five dollars for something at the store and by twenty, we were helping them buy (or repair) a car. My response was usually either a straight up yes or no, while their mom had a wiser method. She would hold the cookie firmly in her hand and as they grabbed for it, then would look them in the eye and ask, “What do you say?” Usually, they would tug at that treat for a few seconds before the light went on and they would smile and say, “Thank you mom!” Then Nancy would give them a big hug, release the cookie and they would delightedly run off to play, while swallowing the cookie in two bites! Now, that may sound cute, but it is exactly how Jesus teaches us to come. Receiving an answer to our request is not based on our deserving it, or whether it is “important” but on the fact that we are God’s child. He is our Father, and a far better one than we are. So, if we, imperfect parents know how to give good gifts to our children, imagine how much better gifts God loves to give, when we come.

But if we use this verse as a formula for getting what we want, then we may receive our gift and yet go away missing out on God’s best gift. We miss learning the gratefulness of simply being His children. We lose the chance to run off with His words, “Go in peace child!” ringing in our ears and the delight of pausing long enough to receive His hug. Why not come to our Heavenly Father, who loves us more than we can ever understand? Why not start with the confidence of a child asking, “Daddy may I have…?” and then receive the joy of God Himself bending down to give us a hug and His words of “Go in peace! ringing in our hearts!

Big Things for Little People

/ pastorpete51 / 8 Comments 
 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, 
the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 
Matthew 18:4

Did you ever notice that Jesus always seemed to have small children close to Him? They must have felt comfortable just hanging out with Him, and today’s verse zeros in on one of those little ones. That day, the disciples, were arguing about who was the most important. Maybe Peter started it off by telling everyone how he had walked on water – at least a few steps.  Matthew could have mentioned that he had given Jesus the biggest party and of course John probably burst in by saying, “But he loves me the most!” While their debate raged on and they were trying to prove who was the best, they had not noticed a young boy who was listening – but Jesus did. Then Jesus took him by the hand and put him right into the middle of their circle and said, “This one (who you didn’t even notice) is the most important to God.“

Does that sound as familiar as your most recent family argument? Haven’t we all sometimes lost perspective on our attitude and the example we are setting? It is easy to get so worked up over the big important things we are doing for God, that we forget that what matters to Him the most is the “little people” around us. Often the little things we could do for them go undone because we are so busy trying to do “big things” for God. But to God there are no big or little things – no big or little people. What is big to God is whether we are doing the small things that He asks. Today people sometimes say, “Dream big!” with the focus on us. But God will never help us to do those “big things”, until we are willing to become like that child who simply wanted to be close to Jesus.