This Little Child is the Greatest...

"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

Is there no thing so tenderly precious as the honest expressions of a child's heart?  True, children "have their moments,"  because they are human and we all share that nature, but when a child exhibits their humility, trust and love, there is nothing like it.  When children trust and confide in us, we have the most solemn obligation, the responsibility to nurture that child's heart and this includes their spiritual training.  Minister-singer David Johnson sang "children are precious, they have the right to know...teach your child about the King of Kings, teach them how to pray..."

Of all the Kings, authorities and kingdoms of the world, when Jesus was asked about true greatness, He pointed to a child.

At that moment when we come to the end of ourselves and do the honest act of turning from our sins and humbly receiving the forgiveness of Christ, we become spiritual children - babes in Christ.  As Jesus said, we become "born again."  Everything is fresh in new.  We can trust and hope as a child does and place our complete faith in our Heavenly Father.     

The Gift of Presence

"When three of Job's friends heard of the tragedy he had suffered, they got together and traveled from their homes to comfort and console him...Waling loudly, they tore their robes and threw dust into the air over their heads to show their grief. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words." Job 2:11a; 12b-13

We know from the rest of the story of Job that after Job's comforters started talking they made his suffering even worse. But for the first seven days they got it right. They stopped whatever they were doing and traveled to be with their friend. The joined Job in his grief and expressed their deep sadness over his situation - wailing loudly.

Grief shared brings a measure of comfort. It means so much when we know we aren't alone - when others hurt for us.

Job's comforters showed sensitivity to his plight. They understood (at that point) that their words could not make the situation better and were wholly inadequate to express the depth of grief required.

Sometimes words aren't enough.

Job's friends gave him the gift of their presence. They were there just staying close - expressing great care just by being there.

Maybe Job would tell us something like this:
The person in grief doesn't need to be fixed, to get their mind off the tragedy, to be told to get over it, to look at the bright side or any other cliche statements. That person needs time and space to process grief and the best comforters are those who allow them that and just stay by their side without shallow commentary.

The gift of presence - emotionally, physically and spiritually is what it means to "be there."

Keeping Perspective

"Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember You."  "Why am I discouraged?  Why is my heart so sad?  I will put my hope in God!  I will praise Him again my Savior and my God!  Psalm 42:5b, 5a

Everyone has discouraging days.  I am comforted by the Psalmists wise words that instructs us what to do when those times come.  Even though his feelings are honestly expressed, he ends the sentence with , "but I will remember You."  It's o.k. to tell God our gut-level feelings, but how important to add what we know, by faith, to be true.

When we remember what good things God has done in our lives it puts that sense of discouragement back into perspective.  The fact is that we each have much for which to be thankful - despite the times of overwhelming problems.

"...but I will remember You."  It was most likely a discouraging time that led most of us to realize our need for a Savior.  In turning to Christ as we realized the depth of our own wrongdoing we received undeserved mercy.  In confessing our sins to Him and asking Him to come into our lives and become our Lord and boss, we receive a rush of deep peace and relief that only forgiveness can bring.

Our lives have worth and purpose in Christ.  Even on discouraging days we can remember how much God has done for us and place our trust in Him anew."

 

Fighting Against Discouragement

But the Lord is in His holy temple;  the Lord still rules from Heaven.  He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth."  Psalm 11:4

When troubles get me down I must remember this verse.  It does me no good to fret about wrong doing or camp on my troubles.  The night is most likely the time when negative thoughts either wake me or bombard me if I wake.  I have lost too much sleep in entertaining the "what ifs."  It helps nothing to do that.  Instead, the nights of victory are won through prayer and bringing to mind the promises in God's Word.  Rehearsing troubles can only rob me of sleep and faith.  Trusting that the Lord still rules from heaven gives me spiritual power whether the circumstances change or not. It's a discipline.  This turning to God is often going against my natural feeling and choosing, as an act of my will to trust.  All the people I look up to in the faith, past and present, have won such skirmishes by faith and trust.  It is hard fought battle in the mind, the will and the spiritual realm.  Author Mrs. Charles E. Cowman reminds us, "Let us give ourselves no liberty ever to doubt God or His love and faithfulness to us in everything and forever...Let us refused to be discouraged.  Let us refuse to be unhappy....Let us rejoice by faith, by resolution, by reckoning, and we shall surely find that God will make the reckoning real."     

"You were made by God and for God - and until you understand that, life will never make sense." R. Warren

Prayers and Tears Together

The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for You, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you. Psalm 9:9-10

Unless we go through trials and suffering that are excruitiating in heart and experience God's grace through those times, we really have nothing to say to those who also suffer. When people hear words of comfort they have to know that those true-to-life words have also come from a place of deep pain. Otherwise the words will seem empty. When we know that the words of comfort come through those who have experienced horrendous things in life and found God to be faithful and good even during those times, we are uplifted and have hope. Hearing how God brought about good, even through tragedy, helps our faith to be strengthened and our outlook brightened. There is hope in Christ - real hope. It is the kind of hope that helps people get through the toughest unimaginable things that life may throw at them - and come out better than before. They are more confident about life, they have a sense of perspective, they can keep the long view in mind, and stay strong in their faith in Christ, smiling even as life roars. In that place of pain when we come to know that nothing - nothing can seperate us from His love and that His plans for us are ultimately good, no matter what we are experiencing us in that moment, there can be a sense of peace of heart and mind. The Bible defines good as that which forges our character more into someone like Jesus. Things that forge character are usually not easy things. Character is usually built in the difficulties and heart-rendering "unfair" brutal realities of life. Tears are ok. They are the workings out of our faith - prayers and tears together. Like the Psalmist we get out our tears and complaints and then place our faith and trust in God all over again. We are told, "when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. (Job 23:10). It all ends well for the child of God, who promises a future and a hope. Hold on. There is true hope in Christ.

An Odd Invitation

…but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace…” II Timothy 1:8b-9a

An invitation to suffering? Uh, thanks, but no thanks. I’ll wait for a better offer.

But the problem is, invitations from God always come with an R.S.V.P. “R.S.V.P. stands for a French phrase, "répondez, s'il vous plaît," which means "please reply," Yes, God’s invitations, like this one “join with me,” always come with the expectancy of a reply. The invitation to suffering is a difficult R.S.V.P. with which to respond. Curiously, like some wedding invitations might read, the R.S.V.P. to suffering is more like a “R.S.V.P. regrets only”. “Regrets only mean “we will assume your response is positive, unless we hear from you”. It’s more of an automatic. Because we live in a fallen world, we all are going to suffer. The question is, are we going to suffer for the sake of the gospel?

We know that Christians in foreign lands suffer mightily for the gospel. Westerners seem to be isolated from the perils that our brothers and sisters in Christ endure over seas. Their suffering is outright persecution. Our suffering is often in the more subtle realm of our spirit and emotions rather than the physical and mental torture some Christians in other countries endure. Yet, the invitation to suffering is given to all Christ-followers. Ephesians 5:1 tells us, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma”. If we seek to imitate Christ and become more like Him, we are going to go through some times of suffering. Christ suffered. We don’t have to go looking for suffering. It finds us. The distinguishing mark between “having a difficult time” and “suffering for Christ” is often in the nature of our response; our reaction to the R.S.V.P. sent our way.

If we entrust our lives to God and live by faith, then every difficulty that comes our way can have spiritual purpose and meaning. Our suffering can be “for the gospel” as we live out real genuine lives that point people to the hope we have in Christ.

Psalm 40:1-3 tells us: “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay. And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear and will trust in the LORD.” It’s not that the Psalmist’s life was all roses. On the contrary - his life was “in the pits.” But it was in the process of seeing how he handled things that caused people to put their trust in the Lord. It was in David’s public suffering that others were won to the Lord, for they were able to see that God was the source of David’s hope.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) was the most popular preacher in London by the ripe old age of 21. He preached to crowds of 10,000 (talk about a mega church!). Spurgeon was used by God in mighty ways, and the process that God used to hone Spurgeon’s character and ministry was through suffering. The R.S.V.P. that was sent to Spurgeon went like this: “The Royal Surrey Gardens Music Hall, a popular amusement hall that Spurgeon’s congregation rented when they had outgrown their building and had not completed a new one. On Sunday night, October 19, 1856, Spurgeon’s first service there was interrupted by false (probably premeditated) cries of “Fire!” In the ensuing melee, 7 people were trampled to death. Spurgeon, only 22 years old, was so distressed he was unable to preach for several weeks and later said the experience was “sufficient to shatter my reason” and might have meant his ministry “was silenced for ever.” Spurgeon went on to recover, but suffered from bouts of depression. “Spurgeon felt great anxiety, but it stemmed not so much from the multitudes as from the awesome responsibility of being accountable to God for the souls of so many. This remained a hearty source of spiritual suffering throughout his career. He remarked in 1883: “I have preached the gospel now these thirty years and more, and … often, in coming down to this pulpit, have I felt my knees knock together, not that I am afraid of any one of my hearers, but I am thinking of that account which I must render to God, whether I speak his Word faithfully or not.” Spurgeon realized, difficult though it was, that his suffering equipped him to minister more effectively. He said, “It is good for me to have been afflicted, that I might know how to speak a word in season to one that is weary.”

The invitation to suffering also comes with the ending, “according to the power of God.” For He is the One whose power transforms something terribly difficult into a source of purpose and meaning and hope.