February 26, 2021Life is filled with surprises, isn’t it? A week ago, as I was getting out of the car in our driveway, a former neighbour called my name and gave me a CD that he released recently. Darren and I had talked about music a few times, but I was surprised that he had his own CD and was glad to listen to it while driving Karen to her physiotherapy appointment the next day (she injured her right rotator cuff in December).
On Wednesday, a neighbour phoned to say that she had some duvets for us. A few minutes later, our living room was filled with beautiful bed coverings. What a wonderful surprise!
While getting out of my car yesterday in Montreal, a middle-aged man approached me asking for money for food. I asked him if he had any friends and he said he didn’t. Last night, we watched an episode of “Shark Tank” that we had recorded last Friday. One of the “pitches” was by a mother and her daughter. I thought that the daughter was in her early 20s and was surprised when she told the “sharks” that she was sixteen. She told how she created “Sienna Sauce” when she was eight and was inspired to become an entrepreneur by watching “Shark Tank.” Tyla-Simone Crayton and her mother, Monique, were homeless for nearly two years, but Monique said they were not “mentally homeless” in an interview on another show: https://www.picklerandben.com/15-year-old-ceo-sauce-boss-mom-went-homelessness-big-business/.
Listening to Monique Crayton talk about sacrificing for her daughter reminded me of the supreme sacrifice that Jesus made for mankind in dying on the cross for us. How sad it is that many people go through life without thinking about what is most important. The pandemic has helped some to realize that life is very short and that God created us to know Him and to love Him. If you are struggling to understand spiritual truths, I urge you to ask God to open your spiritual eyes and show you from His Word that you can have a relationship with Him that will be far more amazing than you could ever imagine.
In the first book of the New Testament, we read that the disciples of Jesus asked Him “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1). Jesus answered after calling a little child to Him: “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:2-4). In his Study Bible, Dr. David Jeremiah comments on this passage: “The issue of rank and status loomed large for the disciples (Matt. 20:20-28; Mark 9:33-38; Luke 9:46-48; 22:24-26), who still thought Jesus would remove Rome’s yoke and bring an earthly kingdom that would restore Israel to prominence – a kingdom in which the disciples expected to be given high-profile positions. But the kingdom of heaven is spiritual, not political – and its standards are opposite of an earthly kingdom’s.”
The disciples, like many of us, were slow to understand what Jesus meant in His teaching. In Matthew 19, when little children were brought to Jesus “that He might put His hands on them and pray” the disciples rebuked their Master (19:13). May we, with God’s help, always encourage everyone to come to Him, who alone can forgive our sins and free us to live the kind of life that He intends for us to live.
Scripture for the weekend: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 (NKJV)
Thought for the weekend: “We base our hope for the future on what God has done in the past.” – Lori Hatcher (from her book “Refresh Your Faith: Uncommon Devotions from Every Book of the Bible,” published by Our Daily Bread Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI)
Steve