21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. 22 "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." 23 Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."
The 70 appointed messengers had just returned full of awe and joy over the power they had wielded through the name of Jesus. And Jesus' joy bubbled up as He reminded His dear friends to rejoice not in the power, but the salvation; that their "names are written in heaven". Jesus is excited that the mysteries of God had been revealed, but not to those to whom the world expected such a revelation to come.
We humans expect great and extensive knowledge and understanding to come with many years of schooling and reading and intensive thought and discussion...what child has had time for that?? What mind that focuses on the simple things in life wants to complicate their thought life with confusion??? What amazes me, is that the kingdom of God is so very contrary to what mankind thinks of as logical.
To God, the pure trust and humility of a little child is desirable (Mt 18:3-4); enemies are to be loved and prayed for (Mt 5:44); a little money can be a big offering (Luke 21:1-4); give and you will be given more (Luke 6:38); blessed are those who are poor and hungry and those who mourn (Luke 6:20-21). Blessed, He says. He doesn't tell us to wish we were older, richer, better fed, "happy"...He says we are blessed. And these are the things that are revealed to little children.
They are excited to put even pennies into the offering plate; they dance around when given a few small fish crackers; they forgive so easily the injustices done to them (I am amazed at how often a child can still smile at me as I offered them a mere popsicle after putting in an IV, drawing blood or holding them down for stitches...sorry, more nurse anecdotes). Jesus loves that Truth is revealed to those with humble, trusting hearts and, after mourning over the cities and towns that rejected His message, Jesus sees that hope is found in those who live their lives a little obliviously to the world around them in which "keeping up with the Joneses" is a time and heart consuming past time.
There is hope, though we humans still fail, there are some who still seek His faith...long to do His will, following Him as best as we can in whatever circumstances life has brought us.
"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see."
The old Testament is filled with prophets and kings who longed to see salvation come; who prayed that the promises of God would be fulfilled in their lifetime...and here it was a group of people, mostly uneducated, of lowly social status whose eyes beheld the promise fulfilled.
And the Promise rejoiced! He did not want an extravagant welcome. He did not want lavish gifts. He wants offering of our lives; the gift of our love; the pleasure of our company...our names written in the Book of Life.
And He loves us just as we are. Educated by books and classrooms or educated by life experience. Happy, struggling, mourning. Able to make any purchase we want with little thought of room in our bank account or living pay check to pay check. Jesus loves us all, saying, "Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure."
My life may not be perfect in the eyes of the world. My house may be tiny and in need of a little tlc. My car is "older" and shows rust through the paint. My hair may be graying more rapidly each day without even the achievements (or stresses) of what many people would say I need in order to have "made it"...to have a full life.
None of that matters. If I can stand before God with my heart singing, shouting, giggling, shining like that of a little child, praising Him for all the blessings that shower in abundance upon me every day, only then do I truly "have it made"...only then can I say, "yes, Lord, I see. I hear."
Monday's scripture focus: Luke 10:25-29
3 comments:
What a beautiful post of hope and encouragement!
What she said. ^
Beautifully said.
It truly is only by His grace that we see. It is only because He has revealed His truth to us that we can be saved. He awakened our hearts, we can take credit for nothing. All glory goes to Him and Him alone!
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