New Thoughts (12/06/09-12/08/09)
I know I have commented on this before, but there is something in the way Zhodiates defines blessing that I just love. “God blesses by interfering, acting for our good not our desire.” It would be well to bear that thought in mind when considering that Jesus blessed these children. For, the term in view there suggests that He was calling down blessings from heaven, and such blessings are necessarily issued by God. So, He is inviting God to interfere in the lives of these children for their good. He is requesting that, should they come looking to God like some benevolent uncle in their prayers, that He would answer as is best for them and not strictly in accord with their requests.
How marvelous, if I can keep this perspective in mind when I pray blessings upon another, or when another prays blessings upon me. It is the same activity, after all. I am not capable of truly blessing another in my own power, nor is there anybody who can bless me in theirs. It’s all a matter of calling upon God to do so. Well, then! Let us pray that God would interfere in the lives of those we would see blessed, for if He will not, then they shall never truly know what it is to be blessed.
Considering this from the other end of blessing, let me bear this same thought in mind when that interference comes! Remember: The blessing, the greatest blessing, is that God does not answer us in accord with our desires, but rather for our good. That’s why it requires interference! It’s not just God running defense against our antagonists. It’s God messing up our own plans because our own plans, while they doubtless pursue our desires, do not further our good. We may even be well aware of that fact. Yet, we want our plans and our goals. God must interfere. Such interference, I fear, is never very welcome. But, oh! The results! Oh! The things He saves us from experiencing!
So, Lord, I invite You to interfere where it’s needful. And, yes, it is clearly needful! Perhaps that is what I am experiencing even in recent days, although I dare say it has not felt like blessing to me. But, blessing is more than feelings, isn’t it? Blessing is the actual good promoted, and yes, my King, I trust that You are ever promoting the true good in me, even when You must do so in spite of myself.
I cry out, as well, that You would so bless my daughter that, even if it must drive her to distraction, You would not leave her to pursue what seems pleasant to her at present, for her tastes suffer the distortion of youth. Jesus, if it for me to speak to her ways, then give me the words to be effective, and the courage to deliver them. But, more importantly, by whatever means prove most useful, do what You must to draw her back to You.
OK, second point that needs to be brought out here. When Jesus proclaims that the kingdom belongs to the likes of these children, we must surely hear that it is by faith and not by works, this business of salvation. The people are, after all, bringing the very young children to Him, so young that Luke is rather surprised by it. “Even infants!” Now, the word he chooses seems to have changed its meaning over time, but its original sense was to speak of those as yet unborn, those still in the womb. I honestly don’t find that out of the question for this passage. “Even mothers to be were coming, seeking that He might bless the children still in their wombs.” And, why not? Had He not Himself been blessed in the womb? It’s hardly unprecedented. Think Jeremiah.
But, returning to the point: Children this young are surely not yet in any position to have merited the favor of blessing, whether we envision those still in the womb, or those only recently delivered. We may hold that they were born in sin, and we can certainly find Scriptural backing for that view. But, we can hardly suppose that they have somehow done acts of contrition or come to the Lord in repentance at such tender age. Yet, Jesus welcomes them and declares that the kingdom belongs to such like. And, He calls down God’s blessings upon them.
Oh! Recognize this! That’s the chief blessing! God so interferes with us that we come to Him. That’s the first and foremost blessing, and it bears directly on this matter of salvation. By faith you were saved, and that by grace so that no man might boast. God interfered. He blessed me with belief. And don’t I know it! Recalling the time of my conversion, how great was that interference, and how greatly I thank Him for all the years since. He interfered mightily. He interfered directly. How else to explain the words that were set in my mind? I would say the audible communication, but it was not so much audible as directly implanted.
OK. I’ll have to jump forward to a point I intend to save for the end, here, but think about that in light of what James says: “Receive the word implanted, which is able to save your soul” (Jas 1:21). Interference! The Word implanted! It’s not what you did, not even what you accepted. It’s what He did. He interfered. When the seed goes in, the soil doesn’t really have much say in the matter. What becomes of the seed thereafter may well depend on the quality of the soil, but the seed’s going in and that’s that. Blessing. The word implanted, faith imparted, and by it we come to a knowledge of God and of His true character. Oh, we are right to fear His wrath when we are all about our sin, but to come to know His love, to come to know that His greatest desire is to rescue you from that sin, not punish you for it. And then! To come to know that He has done for you what you could never hope to do for yourself! He interfered, because it was for your good. You may not have been all that happy while it was happening, but now that you see what was going on? Oh, yes! Please, Lord, feel free to interfere whenever!
It’s by faith, not by works. That’s what it means. He is the Sovereign Lord of all creation. He is the Potter of your clay. Who is really going to gainsay Him when He determines to act? Who could? I am brought back to that point from the previous passage. “What, therefore, God has joined let no man set asunder.” As if! Man is powerless to undo what God has determined done. This may seem at odds with the issue of divorce, where we see men constantly acting against the decree of God. But, as I know my God to be Sovereign, I must also maintain that while it is against His decree, it is within His plan. This is not a condoning of divorce, or a promoting thereof. It is simply that, just as the devil’s worst efforts remain within the plan of God and inevitably wind up promoting His agenda all unwillingly, so too the worst sins of man. They may promote the condemnation of the man involved, but this, too, is in the purpose of God, and will likewise promote His glory.
Now, I shall turn to the specifics of this passage, and what those specifics are speaking to me. The thing that is speaking most loudly is the message of, “Do not hinder.” Wow! I have to say that, given my mindset of late, this is really ringing in my ears. Do not hinder. As I said in my preparatory notes, this is the Scriptural equivalent of, “First, do no harm.” I recognize that I am taking this a bit out of context in order to apply such weight to it, but that’s the way it’s coming at me. After all, the church of today does not have an issue with minors. If anything, we have tilted so far towards minors as to be a bit less welcoming to the older generation. What? You can’t handle the volume? Well then sit in the lobby or something. We want it loud, and it’s our turn! Honestly, I have heard the sentiment expressed in almost exactly those words. It’s our turn and you can just be quiet. There’s the heart of service! But, I digress.
First do no harm. Do not hinder. It’s not children, or even elders that need to be in view for us. It’s really a matter of dealing with the spiritually immature. Think of it in those terms. Think of it in terms of the things Paul was addressing, those matters of conscience. So your grasp on doctrine is more solid than another’s. That doesn’t mean you should berate him for his ignorance. Teach! Teach, but from a solid foundation of loving concern. Too often, at least for me, the tendency is to teach from a landslide of frustration. Yet again I have to wonder if I’m in the wrong branch of the house of God. I mean, the excessive focus on healing, miracle and charismatic display just makes me crazy. Start with Truth. Implant the seed of the Word. Then, if He happens to add these things, Bonus! But, to make them the forefront? Yes, I understand. These are our denominational distinctives. That, and the insistence that we are not a denomination. We just belong to a group or something.
And yet, what do our distinctives matter if they do not include an adherence to the Truth? What do they matter if they are become a hindrance? Or is it I who become a hindrance by being overly concerned about these things? Honestly, I would have to admit there are at least some members whose over-emphasis of the charismata really puts me off. Everything has to be prophetic. Why? And, for all that, define prophetic. If it’s the all-positive, all-encouraging, tell me what I want to hear prophetic, then it’s not prophetic at all. It’s delusional deception.
Or, we find those who are so caught up on the concept of miraculous healing that they’ll claim it at the drop of a hat. They’ll go off insisting that they’re healed in spite of the fact that they aren’t. Then, they suffer worse complications because they ignore the common sense response to their condition, the things that they know to do which at least improve that condition. And, they suffer the emotional blow, the spiritual discouragement of feeling duped when their symptoms don’t keep pace with their imaginations. And, this is doing them a service? How so?
Then, of course, there are those that are simply off in spiritual la la land. Discerning whether it’s a spiritual high or some more mundane form of drug abuse becomes difficult, and frankly, I’m not certain there’s that much to distinguish between the two. I really have to wonder if God is pleased by such antics in His name. Oh, look at me! I’m drunk. Ha ha ha. What has this to do with the kingdom of heaven? I have no idea. But, it sure is fun, isn’t it? Just like the parties I used to go to when I was younger, except no hangover.
But, I have to look to myself, here. “Do not hinder.” Yes, it’s foolishness to me. Yes, I think that those who play these spirit games are off course. But, is it a harmful off course, or is it a matter of conscience? That’s a hard determination to make. I mean, I know that to me it seems very much a matter that does great harm, but does it, really? Is it better to smack these folks back into reality, or to let them proceed apace in the hopes that they will arrive at Truth sooner or later? For all that, am I fit to be the judge? I should think not!
First, do no harm. Do not hinder these childlike ones from coming to Me. That’s the message I am hearing from this passage. At the very least, then, I must learn how to deal with such behaviors in love. Dare I say, with tolerance? No, I don’t think it’s a matter of tolerating any more than I ought to tolerate sin in my brother (or he in me.) It’s a matter of not trying so hard to “make them understand” that I make them leave. I should recall the experience of those sidewalk evangelists that did so much to turn me away for a few extra years. First, do no harm. Don’t be annoying. Be real. Make contact first. Establish grounds from which to speak. Enter the relationship, then maybe, when trust is established, you can think about talking in correctives. But, if there is no friendship – and strong friendship at that – to underpin the correctives, expect to be found a hindrance.
Now, there are clearly points at which Church discipline trumps this. If the one in question is become harmful in his own right, poisoning the body with false doctrines, then by all means move to protect the body. If this can be done by a healing of belief, great. If not, then, as Scripture indicates, it’s time to excise. Eliminate. But, even then, in hope of an eventual restoration, never in retribution.
With that, I turn my attention to the teaching Jesus draws forth from this situation. It’s interesting that Matthew cuts the message short, settling for ‘the kingdom belongs to such as these’, and no more. Perhaps, as he writes to a Jewish audience, this is the part they needed to hear. Don’t hinder these other nations for all their ignorance of your tradition and your Torah, the kingdom belongs to such as these. It’s not the traditions that will gain them access, nor even memorization of Scripture. It’s faith. It’s simple faith. But, again, Matthew has cut out the positive half of that equation, and it is that positive half that most has my attention, because in our day, it seems to get applied without much thought for what it means.
So, we come to: “Whoever does not receive the kingdom like a child shall not enter it at all.” To begin with, let’s consider that word, ‘receive’. I really ought to have looked this one up, I see. From Zhodiates, I learn that this reception is a matter of ‘accept[ing] an offer deliberately and readily.’ That’s beautiful! From Thayer’s, I add this: It’s to embrace and make one’s own. Well then! Let’s fold that back into the word. “Whoever does not deliberately embrace the offer of the kingdom and readily make it his own like a child accepts what is given him, shall not enter it at all.”
This ought already to give us a sense as to the bounds of application for this passage. As we are entering into the Christmas season, it is only natural to be put in mind of the look on a child’s face when that child has opened a particularly welcome present. There is no questioning of its provenance. There is no guarded concern as to the cost of that present, and whether the giver of that gift could really afford it. There is only the joyful recognition that this is now mine! It’s what I’ve always wanted! Sure, and ‘always’ may be measured in days in this case, but it’s the honest expression of the feeling in that moment.
That’s the point. Here we have this gift of heaven handed to us wrapped in the Gospel and tied with the bow of Jesus. So long as it remains wrapped and tied, it’s just a pretty decoration. There’s no label on it, so we may not even give it much thought. It’s not for us. But, then this gift is put into our hands. Go ahead. Open it! And inside we find this citizenship in the greatest kingdom. If this does not open unto us a joy such as that child experiences on Christmas day; if we don’t feel that same welling emotion of, “this is just what I’ve always wanted”, I have to wonder if we’ve really opened that present in the first place. Oh, the emotion may fade. That ‘always’ may never even have occurred to us until the moment we unwrapped the gift and saw what was inside. But, that’s the way the kingdom of heaven impacts us. We may never have conceived of it before, but when once that gift is given, the seed of the Spirit within us recognizes that yes! This is it. This is what’s been lacking. This is what that hunger has been about.
And now, it’s mine! You know, every one of us knows and understands implicitly that when once a gift has been given, there is no question of that gift being taken back. We know this so clearly that from the earliest age we have our derogatory terms for those who would consider such an action. In my youth, the term of choice was ‘Indian giver.’ We’re not supposed to use such phrases now, but this is what it was, and we all knew what it meant. You had taken back what you had given. What you had done was not right. It’s mine now. You gave it to me. And, you have no business trying to rewrite that bit of history.
Now, I say all that to make a point. When we receive the kingdom of God, we receive a gift. It is an act of God’s grace, a giving to us of something we have neither earned nor even deserved. It’s not payment for services rendered. It’s not a reward for returning something that God had lost. It’s a gift, no different in nature than the gifts we get on our birthday, or on His. We receive those gifts with no expectation that the one who gave might ask for it back, after all. No! We open it with the full and instant understanding that, ‘this is mine.’ If the gift has been given with an eye to who we are and what we enjoy, that understanding is accompanied by the joy of receiving something pleasing to us. So, too, the kingdom. And, when God gives us this gift of the kingdom, we really ought to understand from our own experience that He has no intention of asking to have it back. He will not renege on what He has given. In childlike fashion, then, we can receive it with warmest welcome. We can look upon this gift with the absolute joy of, ‘this is now mine’, without even the least contemplation of, ‘are you sure you could afford this?’ There is no, “you shouldn’t have” in a child. There is only, “Wow! Thanks!”
So let me bring out the rendition of this verse provided by the Living Bible. “Anyone who doesn't have their kind of faith will never get within the Kingdom's gates.” Never. No chance. If you don’t welcome that gift, embrace it, gladly take full possession of it, then how can you think the Giver will be pleased? We know that we must make every effort to display joy in the gift received from our children, whatever we might really think of it. Yes, we may joke about receiving yet another tie, or whatever it may be. But, we will rejoice over that gift when we receive it, even if only for their sake. And, we will wear what they gave us, whatever we may think of it, because we wish them to have the joy of their giving. God is also inclined to have the joy of His giving. How shall He rejoice in His giving if we reject the gift, sniff at it, and wonder why He couldn’t come up with something better?
Yet, many come to this verse and find in it license for all manner of silliness. See? It says to act like a child, so I’m doing what I should! But, no! It says nothing of the kind, and a bit of exploring of the Scriptures in search of understanding rather than just permission would make this plain enough. Consider this, for instance: “Don’t think like children!” As regards evil, yes! Be like babes – totally unacquainted with the concepts. But, in your thinking? No. Be mature (1Co 14:20). Everything doesn’t go. Spiritual tantrums are not acceptable in Daddy’s eyes. Silliness in thought and act are not welcome in the presence of the adults, nor ought they to be. Tolerated, perhaps, in the very young, but only with the understanding and expectation that the very young will grow up.
So, then, let’s add Peter’s thoughts. “Long for the pure milk of the Word like newborn babes, so that you may grow in respect to salvation by its nurture” (1Pe 2:2). In other words, don’t keep yourself in a state of perpetual infanthood. The goal is to grow up! The goal is to mature! The silliness of youth has its time and its place, but it’s not always and everywhere. We live in a land that so celebrates youth, so encourages its people to remain young and carefree, that many have lost sight of the goal of maturity. In what other age has one heard of this plague of adult children? We’ve a society chock full of them! They’re past middle age and still unready to take responsibility for themselves, still living at home with mom and dad. They still haven’t grown up! What a great evil this is! What a terrible coercion of Godly order.
Finally, I would turn to James, brother of Jesus, and perhaps the sternest of the apostolic authors. Here’s the parental call to grow up. “Put aside all filthiness. Put aside the remains of wickedness. Just humbly receive the word implanted, for this is what is able to save your souls” (Jas 1:21). Humbly receive. Embrace what is given to you. You know, I cannot look at that without thinking that the earth, whatever its qualities, does not have any say in regard to the seed that is implanted. The seed is implanted, whatever the soil may think of it. But, where that seed is welcomed and embraced by the soil, as Jesus explained in His parable, how marvelously that seed will grow. Where the soil remains full of that filth and wickedness, the seed will yet sprout, to be sure, for it takes more than that to stop the seed. But, it gets choked out. I would add to that list the foolishness that marks spiritual childhood. This, too, will wind up choking out the growth of that seed, because it cuts off the necessary nourishment for the maturing plant of faith.
By all means, then, welcome that which God is giving with open arms. Make it your own. No, no need for that. Just know that it is your own. Have no thought for the idea that God might change His mind and take it back. It’s not in Him to behave thus. That does not mean we can therefore go forward in life just as we have always gone. It is not license to sin. It is blessed assurance. It is the certainty that God has started, and the confidence that He is faithful to finish what He starts. It is the joyful confidence that my citizenship is now in heaven, whatever my estate here on earth. In this life, there will be trials. But, those trials are managed by my Father in heaven, and He so arrays them as to strengthen me rather than wear me down. It may not always seem thus, but it always is thus. Perseverance leading to character leading to that hope which is not wishful thinking, but certainty (Ro 5:1-5). As He has said, so it shall be. In this, I have confidence and capacity to walk into maturity in Christ.
