05/30/2023
Do you only commit a portion of yourself before God when He asks something of you? Do you use such language as "I will but", or, "just let me do this first", or perhaps you ask "what about this?" Do you place certain conditions on when, or whether, you will follow God's will for you? Maybe it's time we should just respond "here I am."
“Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."”
Luke 9:61-62 ESV
What is Jesus saying in this scripture? He is obviously not talking about an actual plow... this is symbolic of what we do when we have second thoughts about following God's call, or try to interject our own logic, reason, desires, or wills, into or before His.
For those of us with children this is so familiar, we say... "Johnny, clean up your room and then you can go out to play with your friends", only to hear him reply "but Mom, they will be gone by then", or "Dad, what if I promise to come back in and do it before dinner?" Does this sound familiar? Usually the excuse making continues on for just about as long as it would have taken to do the chore in the first place! This scenario is about a child attempting to place their desires before yours... it is a debate about who is in charge, and yes... who knows best. When we do this with God he gets just as frustrated with our whining as we do as parents.
I remember the relationship my mother had with her parents. My grandfather was a firm man, and there were certain rules that governed his home. They were unyielding and the expectation was that they be followed. My mother followed them to a T, even as an adult. There were a couple of things at play here... first, she honored her parents and knew that there was no hardship placed on her that didn't benefit the family; and second, her mother and father were not her playmates, or her friends... they were her parents and to be obeyed.
Today the American family dynamic has changed and children are not taught to obey without question. Parents have become extensions of their children's group of friends and for a large part have abandoned the role of parenthood, and teaching that were hard and fast rules in our lives. The concept of honoring your mother and father being a virtue has been diminished. As Christians we should know this idea of honoring better than most, and yet, we follow the modern reinvention of what a parent is. Then we carry this into our very faith, and let it influence how we attempt to interact with God. We allow our children to treat us as playmates and not parents, and we attempt to treat God in the same way. Is there any wonder that we feel our spiritual lives ebbing?
“Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: 'I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,' but now the Lord declares: 'Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.”
1 Samuel 2:30 ESV
We still love our children when they disobey or argue with us, and God still loves us as well, but the joy and pride we have in our children is replaced by disappointment, and as God says of us when we don't honor him... we are "lightly esteemed."
So when God calls our name He isn't a modern day pseudo parent that claims that role simply because of a moment of creation, or in our case biology, but rather He is teaching us day and night to honor Him and those around us. He is instructing us in how to behave towards Him, our neighbors, and yes... our parents. When we place our wills before His and bicker or negotiate our role in His desire for us we will find that He doesn't tolerate our poor behavior and dishonoring Him. God acts in a fashion that is alien to today's society and family. In God’s house, rules are not meant to be broken, and everything is not negotiable.
Jesus said these words, and if you read them carefully you will see that there is an absence of such wording as "wants to", "can", "perhaps", "companion", and "like". Here is how the scripture actually reads....
“If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”
John 12:26 ESV
It does not say “if anyone wants to serve me, he can follow me; and perhaps where I am, there will my companion be also. If anyone works with me on this, the Father just might like Him."
How do you read the word of God? How do you answer God when He calls, and how do you teach your children to respond to authority? Do you think that there just might be a link between how we treat our parents, families, neighbors, and the world, with how we behave towards God? If you don't listen to God's Word, then just maybe you will listen to something more worldly... and it will not be good. Remember these words sung in 1969 by Cosby, Stills, Nash, and Young in their popular song titled “Teach Your Children Well?”
"Teach your children well, their father’s hell did slowly go by" - Cosby, Stills, Nash, and Young
Prayer:
Father, thank you for being more than just my friend. Thank you Lord for being my Holy Father that instructs me in responsibility, honor, and love. Teach me Father to obey you out of love, and honor you for who you are. Help me to be a good parent that isn't a peer nor a playmate, but a teacher and rabbi to my children. Help me Dear Lord to teach them well so that when you call they will know how to properly respond to you. Help me instruct them in love, rather than arbitrary discipline, and help me to be a parent that they will one day honor... and who demonstrates how to honor you. Let my answer to your call be a simple "Here am I" and not "In a minute!"
Rich Forbes