We are bombarded with messages that we need to do more, give more, be more. Whether these messages are overt and intended or subtle and implied, they push us to ask ourselves, “am I enough?” Am I enough for my children? Am I enough for my spouse? Am I enough for my work? Am I enough for my society? And above all, am I enough for the Lord? The bad news is that we are all lacking; the good news is even in our lack we are enough in the Lord’s eyes.
If you have children, you probably spend a fair amount of time talking about parenting—how things are going for this child or that child, what you’re fighting with your children about (what they’re eating or not eating, screen time, homework, etc.), your worries about their future. But what is the goal? What is the role of a parent meant to be? And what about these children that we’re trying to parent—are they perfect, uncorrupted little angels, are they disrespectful brats that need to be brought into line?
There are many opinions about all of these things in the world but what I want to talk about on Sunday is what the Lord says about all of this in His Word. What does He teach us about the nature of children and how does He define the role of a parent? Gaining clarity about this can really help us hold the hard work of parenting in a better way.
This Sunday we continue our series on children. When we think of children our minds immediately go to parents as well. But children are not just the concern of parents. Whether we like it or not, all of us have some responsibility for other people’s children. As individuals, as a community, and as a church, how do we carry out this responsibility that we have not asked for and at times outright resent? All of us have a role to play in the lives of the young people who surround us.
This Sunday we’re beginning a sermon series on children with the story in which Jesus says, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them….” The context of this statement is that people were trying to bring their children to the Lord but the disciples were telling them to go away. We might think, why would the disciples try to send the children away from the Lord? But there are actually plenty of times when we might be inclined to do the same exact thing. Let’s take a look.
You can tell a lot about someone by the things and people they surround themselves with. On the one hand, this is because where we choose to put time and effort is a reflection of what we value. On the other hand, it is also because we are shaped by our environments: we become like what we are surrounded by. This statement is true spiritually. If we surround ourselves with heavenly influences, we will become heavenly. If we surround ourselves with hellish influences, we will become hellish. Where and how we spend our time is not just a matter of personal preference. It is a matter of choosing who we will become.
Last week we read about the Lord commanding His disciples to go forth and make disciples of all nations and we talked about what He is asking of us in that command. (Read, listen to, or watch the sermon from last week at those links.) The Lord didn’t just give them that general command; He also told them specifically to baptise people into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to teach them to keep all the things that He had commanded them. Are we all meant to baptise people? Why did the Lord talk about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Are we all meant to teach other people what the Lord commanded? If we want to take this command of the Lord’s seriously, then we need to really think this through.
There is a lot of movement in the story of the morning of the Lord’s resurrection. The words go or going are used 7 times in the last chapter of Matthew. Women go to the tomb, they are told to go and tell the disciples to go to another place. When the disciples go to that place, the Lord tells them to go out to all nations and make disciples, baptise, and teach. What movement does the Lord want from us? It’s easy to celebrate Easter, eat a few too many chocolates, and go back to normal life without anything having changed. Where does the Lord want us to go this Easter and how do we get up and do it.
You are warmly invited to the following Easter services:
This Sunday we celebrate Jesus riding into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. When He rode in some people recognised Him as the Messiah, other people didn’t know who He was, and other people strongly rejected the idea that He was the Messiah. We hope that we would have been among those who saw Him as the Messiah but, a few chapters later, the Lord warns people not to be fooled by people pretending to be the Messiah. Can we tell the difference between the Lord and people pretending to be the Lord?
In the western world we tend to value individuality above almost anything else. The freedom of the individual is sacrosanct. The Lord also values individual freedom. Without the freedom to make personal choices we would not be able to choose heaven over hell. Yet that does not mean that all freedom is equal: one kind of individual freedom leads to hellish anarchy while the other leads to heavenly order. If we want to follow the Lord, we need to spend time distinguishing between the one and the other.
