Thought for Today
Ezekiel 18:4 Know that all lives are mine; the life of the parent as well as the life of the child is mine:
Proverbs 17:6 Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their parents.
Luke 2:41 Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival.
Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Many years ago, after our own children had gone off to college, my widowed mother spent a weekend with us in our suburban home. While Mom was with us, I spoke with one of our children on the phone. I no longer remember the issue, or even which of our 2 children was on the call, but there was some problem requiring my help and causing some concern. After I hung the phone up, I said to my 80+-year old Mom, “When do you stop worrying about your children?” Without missing a beat, she replied, “I’ll let you know!”
Our son regularly comes over for coffee on Wednesday. Often our daughter also comes over. This week, our son helped us hook up a new television and cable box we bought for our bedroom. He came back to complete the job this morning. Our weather this morning is rather unpleasant. What began last night as snow has turned into an icy rain. The streets and driveways are coated with slush covering pockets of hidden ice. After completing the final portions of the television/cable connections and attending to another item on his mother’s list, he headed home to begin his own day’s work. As he got into his car, I called (very parentally), “Drive safely.” Realizing what I was doing, and acknowledging that he is a very accomplished adult and a parent himself, I added “Look both ways before you cross the street!” “When do you stop worrying about your children?”
The Bible tells us that Mary never stopped worrying about Jesus. From his birth until his death on the cross, Mary was there. In Luke’s birth narrative, we read, “2:19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” During Jesus’ ministry, Luke tell us of Jesus, “8:20 And he was told, ‘Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.’" Later, in Luke’s Acts of the Aposltes, we read, “Acts 1:14 All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.” “When do you stop worrying about your children?”
Christians often speak of our all equally being children of God. How many of us have ever ‘pondered in our hearts’ how much worry we may be causing our Creator God? John confirms for us in 3:16-17 that in fact, God did not . . . has not stopped worrying about God’s children. From Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, the Bible records how God has watched, worried and taken steps for our wellbeing and our protection. The Law, the Prophets, the Writings, the Gospels and the Epistles all record how God has continuously called out to God’s children, “Look both ways before you cross the street!” Jesus reminded his own disciples, “Matthew 28:20 . . . And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
God never stops. God never sleeps. God always watches. God always loves. Irrespective of whether we ever listen, of whether we ever look both ways before we cross the street, God is always there, reaching out God’s hand for us to hold as God crosses with us the busy streets of life.
No matter what today, tomorrow or all of the tomorrows of the future may bring, God will faithfully meet every challenge with us. Long before computers, Bluetooth or AI, ever since before the beginning, there has been God. Before DIY books, advice columns, Google or googling, there was God. Omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, always God and always loving God’s Creation and Creatures. “When do you stop worrying about your children?” Mom’s implicit answer was “Never!” Mom knew that God answers the same, “Never!” What’s asked of us in return? "Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
Stay safe, thank God for caring, trust God,
Pastor Ray