The Importance of the Kingdom - 22 March 2018
Wanda Bam
Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by Him, and said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.” Mark 9:33-37; Luke 9:46-48
Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through who they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Mark 9:42-48; Luke 17:1-2
Being a child is a wonderful phase in a person’s life. Maybe there are some though who do not agree and who have no reason to think back fondly of those years as a child. I would like to ask if you can remember the first time that as a child, you looked into a mirror and realised, “This is me”. When I read Mark 9, I almost get the impression that Jesus would have wanted to tell the disciples to put away the mirror, because the person that they saw in the mirror was too great, too sophisticated and too knowledgeable to grasp and understand the simple love and message of Jesus, and that they were too aware of social acceptances.
Just to be, feels like those holidays when we don’t want to brush our hair or shave. Times when we play, chase the little ones on the beach, kick the ball, laugh loudly until even the wrinkles do not bother us; times when we don’t really care what we look like should we have to look in a mirror. What happened to that boy or girl who looked at themselves in admiration in the mirror for the first time?
Sometimes we are so miserable and despondent that it looks as though the millstone has already been placed around our necks. If it feels as though you are here, I would like to invite you to look into the mirror that is in your handbag, the rearview mirror of the car, or in the room, and say to yourself that we can look like a child again, believe like a child and with the eyes of innocence, laugh like a child. It is when we strive so hard to achieve control and authority that we quickly become “grown-up”, often greater than God’s plan for our lives. But, it is when we look at Jesus as a child would, with innocence and childlike faith, that life once again becomes more attractive. That is when I find my joy again, with Him.
Prayer: Dear Lord, I am sorry for sometimes thinking that I am better than You, as if I can advise You on what is best for me. Help me to find my way back to childlike faith. In You I will find my joy and live in the victory that it brings. Amen