The Place of Children
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.’” Matthew 18: 1 – 5
I am amazed at what God has been doing in my heart concerning children and their importance in His eyes. I have always believed that they have value in God’s eyes and of the importance to protect both the born and the unborn as vulnerable human beings made in God’s image. Yet, I still held a form of prejudice toward them. I was in a way like the disciples above. I saw that children had their place in a child’s world, but then someday they would finally become responsible adults and could have a place and a voice and a contribution to give at that point in time. I am sorry to say, that even as a father of 4, I overlooked the importance of children. Read More
Reflections on Isaiah 65
There is so much that The Bible has to say about God’s heart for the poor, the broken, the forgotten and those on the fringes. When one looks at the story line of The Bible as a whole it is possible to see how God is on His mission throughout history of not only reconciling people to Himself, but also of establishing His rule and His reign here on earth as it already is in heaven. Unfortunately it can be easy for us to water down this vision of Him establishing His rule and reign to a concept of heaven somewhere up there that I will get to go to someday where I will have a mansion, gold paved streets and there will be no pain.
While it is a glimpse of the picture, I believe that it is not the whole picture. Read More