The Painful Truth

In Matthew 18, Jesus asks his disciples, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" There's no record of a response, probably because that very issue landed them in hot water on more than one occasion. Jesus answered his own question when 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 little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

Scholars have bantered about numerous ideas concerning what it means to become like a little child; I'm sure there's more than one possible answer. But I was reminded the other day of one aspect of being child-like. We were out with a friend who was holding Jake's hand walking through a store. One of the women who worked there struck up a conversation with him and he politely answered all her questions. She said to him, "wow, are you always this good?" My friend started making some kind remarks about how nice he was and Jake interrupted with a vigorous head shake and a very clear, "No."

He was telling the truth. Even though it didn't put him in the best possible light, he just came right out with it. He didn't have the sophistication to think about how to answer the question in a way that would make him look as good as possible. He didn't think for a moment that his answer might cause him to be loved less. He just said what he knew to be true.

There's a lesson in there somewhere. How many times do I say or do something to make myself look better than I really am? How many times am I afraid that to be honest about my brokenness would make me less loved? How many times do I choose a higher status in the kingdom of men rather than the kingdom of heaven? I want to be a truth teller, and so, somehow, grow up to be a child, perfectly at home being loved and blessed by Jesus in the kingdom of heaven.

Tent Murmuring

Ps 106:24-25 says, "Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his promise. They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the LORD." Nearly all the translations say that Israel despised the pleasant land, but I think rejected more accurately reflects our way of thinking. Israel didn't despise the land, as though they didn't think it was good enough for them. They rejected the land because the difficulty of taking possession of it seemed far too great to be a realistic option. So they refused to even consider it.

They rejected God's lavish provision because they didn't trust in God's promise that he would do what it took to help them take possession of the land. If God had promised them a barren land with just enough vegetation to sustain their existence, but a land without giants, they might have been quite happy to go. But God had a lot more in mind. He had a better land that would take more trust and more work, but would provide for them much more richly.

True to human nature, they rejected God's big promise for something they could grasp, but then spent time in their tents grumbling against God and his leaders because of the lack of abundance. They did not obey the voice of the Lord and they suffered greatly because of it. That pattern can be an easy one to fall into. God offers abundant provision with the caveat that I trust him to do the heavy lifting, and instead I settle for the wilderness, rationed food, and evenings spent murmuring in my tent. Lord, help me to obey your voice and live in the provision you have called me to.

Missions Convention

Our church recently finished a missions convention; we invited several missionary couples to come and share their lives and ministries with us. Spending time around missionaries sometimes leaves people with a sense of awe because of the exoticness of where they live and what they do (and in my book, anyone who eats soup with their hands from a large pot with a goat's head sticking out does have a claim to living an exotic lifestyle). But most of them will tell you that most of what they do is fairly mundane. They get up and work, shop, eat, rest, and all the other "normal" parts of our existence. In the end, I think what makes them stand out
is not just their lifestyle, but their deep sense of the mission of God and the part that God has called them to play in that mission. They endure frustration and struggles because they know that they have been called to join God in his mission to bless all the peoples of the earth. That brings me back to me.

Is there any reason that I should feel less of a sense of God's mission just because my soup comes with a spoon and happens to be chicken noodle? I don't think so. When I wake up in the morning, I should have just as strong a sense of God's mission as my brothers and sisters living on the other side of the world. May the Lord help us to sense the opportunity we have every day to join him in his mission.