God's Value System

-

God’s Value System Part 1

Matthew 19:13-15

“Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

 

            The disciples were disturbed.  Their busy day, filled with interruptions, was now being interrupted by children.  Their schedule was filled with what they considered important activities.  They were in discussions with the rich, the influential, and the powerful.  The reader should notice that the interruption of the children was in the middle of Jesus interacting with the Pharisees.  They were the spiritual and religious leaders.  They were men of significant influence over the people.  If Jesus were to gain the following necessary to establish his kingdom, they would need them as part of the team.  Following his interaction with the Pharisees, Jesus interacted with a rich young ruler.  He was one of the social elite and powerful.  He was the type of person the disciples wanted to connect with to gain his influence as well.  But Children had nothing to offer.  They were unimportant.  They had no influence.  So we can see why the disciples were frustrated with these clamoring children, and so they rebuked the parents for bringing them to Jesus.  If we were honest, we would have sided with the disciples.  In a world where connections and careers determine our success, we do not have time for what we deem insignificant.

            When Jesus sees their actions, he responds, not by r rebuking the parents, but by rebuking the disciples.  Instead of the children being an interruption, Jesus makes them a priority.  He again reiterates that in order to be a part of his kingdom, we need to be like children.  We must set aside our pride and desires for success and recognize that we have nothing to offer in God's kingdom.  All our accomplishments, connections, and success have no value.  To participate in Christ's kingdom, we need to be like a child who brings nothing to offer besides simple faith and trust in Jesus.  The kingdom is not for the rich and powerful but for people who are like these children, people who recognize their need for God’s protection and activity.           

            In this event, we discover a key to unlocking God’s value system.  God is not impressed with our accomplishments.  He is not impressed by our financial portfolio or our recognition by others.  We come to Christ with nothing but the simple desire to receive his blessing.  In God’s value, it is not what we bring to God but what he brings to us.  Faith begins when we recognize our salvation is unmerited and unworthy. When we come with nothing we discover that God will give us everything.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Life of Significance

-
Answering the Call Matthew 10:1-15 “And when you go, preach, saying, ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”               What is your goal in life?  At the end of your life, what do you desire to accomplish?  These are no idle questions to ponder and dismiss.  They are the hard questions we need to ask so that our life has genuine purpose and meaning. Tim Kizziar wrote, “Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be the fear of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.”  Too often, we spend our lives in pursuit of the things that, in the end, are insignificant and temporary rather than meaningful and eternal.             In response to the spiritual needs around them, Jesus sent out his disciples to proclaim the kingdom's message.  In 9:38, he challenges his disciples to pray for workers to be sent into the harvest.  We are to pray for people who are willing to become participants in Christ's redemptive program by proclaiming his mes
Read more

The Prayer God Answers

-
The Prayer that God Loves to Answer Phil. 1:7-11 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”               When we pray, what is the focus of our requests?  James points out that one of the reasons we are powerless in prayer is because we ask with the wrong motives. Our prayers focus on what we want for our pleasure and happiness rather than spiritual transformation (James 4:3). Effective prayer starts with the proper focus.  This is not to say that God does not desire us to pray about our personal needs.  He invites us to pray about all things and issues in our lives.  However, prayer is not alligning God’s will to us, but our will to his.  Effective prayer aligns our lives with Christ's will
Read more

Seeing as Jesus Sees

-
Seeing as Jesus Sees Matthew 9:35-38 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”               “Seeing” is a significant thread woven throughout the chapter, focusing on what Jesus sees in contrast to what others see.  Throughout the chapter, we find Jesus seeing people, not from a physical but spiritual perspective.  In verse 2, He saw the faith of the men who brought the Paralytic.  In verse 9, while people saw a despised tax collector, Jesus saw someone who would be a disciple and writer.  In verse 22, Jesus did not see an unclean woman but a woman who was desperate and in need of healing and had faith in his ability to provide for her needs.  In verse 23, Jesus enters a room of mourners, and he sees a hopeless crowd in the face of death.  In verse 30, Jesus give physical and spiritual sight to men who were both physically and spiritually blind.               What Jesus saw stands in contrast to what ot
Read more