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Category Archives: Matthew

Matthew 7:13-14

07 Jul

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Matthew 7:13-14

Dear God, the gate is a constant choice. It’s interesting that choosing a life through the narrow gate or the wide gate will have a cumulative effect and will build on itself, but there’s a portal from each road that will take me to the other instantly.

So what are some ways I can accidentally go through that portal that gets me to the road with the wide gate?

  • Self-indulgence
  • Clinging to my rights over others’ rights
  • Lethargy
  • Judging others
  • Gossip
  • Ignoring the struggles of others
  • Gluttony

Now that I think about it, it is choosing all of the things in Galatians 5:19-21:

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

The gate is wide for all of these, and I can find myself easily wanting to fall into at least half of them.

But the narrow gate and road are really only dictated by two choices:

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
Luke 10:25-28

Love you with all my heart, soul, and strength and love my neighbor as myself.

Father, I am taking these two days as a vacation, and I have a choice for these two days. I can be self-indulgent or I can love you and love others. If I allow myself to be consumed by news, social media, watching movies/TV, then I will find that I’ll return to work on Thursday in a worse place that I left yesterday afternoon. But if I will take these two days to rest, meditate on you and your word, and think about how my life might be a blessing to those around me then I have a chance of going to work on Thursday morning walking on the narrow path and being a blessing to others in your name. Help me to use these two days wisely.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 7, 2020 in Galatians, Luke, Matthew

 

My Utmost Fo His Highest by Oswald Chambers — June 30 (Updated Edition by James Reimann)

30 Jun

Agree with your adversary quickly… —Matthew 5:25

In this verse, Jesus Christ laid down a very important principle by saying, “Do what you know you must do— now. Do it quickly. If you don’t, an inevitable process will begin to work ‘till you have paid the last penny’ (Matthew 5:26) in pain, agony, and distress.” God’s laws are unchangeable and there is no escape from them. The teachings of Jesus always penetrate right to the heart of our being.

Wanting to make sure that my adversary gives me all my rights is a natural thing. But Jesus says that it is a matter of inescapable and eternal importance to me that I pay my adversary what I owe him. From our Lord’s standpoint it doesn’t matter whether I am cheated or not, but what does matter is that I don’t cheat someone else. Am I insisting on having my own rights, or am I paying what I owe from Jesus Christ’s standpoint?

Do it quickly— bring yourself to judgment now. In moral and spiritual matters, you must act immediately. If you don’t, the inevitable, relentless process will begin to work. God is determined to have His child as pure, clean, and white as driven snow, and as long as there is disobedience in any point of His teaching, He will allow His Spirit to use whatever process it may take to bring us to obedience. The fact that we insist on proving that we are right is almost always a clear indication that we have some point of disobedience. No wonder the Spirit of God so strongly urges us to stay steadfastly in the light! (see John 3:19-21).

“Agree with your adversary quickly….” Have you suddenly reached a certain place in your relationship with someone, only to find that you have anger in your heart? Confess it quickly— make it right before God. Be reconciled to that person— do it now!

Dear God, I’m often surprised where a scripture will take Mr. Chambers. I know these are excerpts from sermons and lessons he taught that his wife put together into these daily devotions ten years after his death, but still, I think would have loved hearing some of his sermons.

It was towards the end of today’s devotion that caught my eye. It was about not putting off repenting before you, but doing it now. Here, I won’t do it justice.

Do it quickly— bring yourself to judgment now. In moral and spiritual matters, you must act immediately. If you don’t, the inevitable, relentless process will begin to work. God is determined to have His child as pure, clean, and white as driven snow, and as long as there is disobedience in any point of His teaching, He will allow His Spirit to use whatever process it may take to bring us to obedience. The fact that we insist on proving that we are right is almost always a clear indication that we have some point of disobedience.

Basically, he’s saying I should save myself some trouble and be used by you as soon as possible. Why wait?

I heard an interview with Rob Lowe tonight. He was talking about getting sober 30 years ago. He said the biggest obstacle to him getting sober was the thought that all of the fun would be gone. “What, I can’t have some champagne to celebrate the New Year? I can’t have a drink with my friends to celebrate the birth of a child?” But he went on to say that he has had more fun after getting sober than he ever did doing alcohol and drugs and, as he put it, that’s saying something considering how much he did in the 80s.

So his point was, if you are waiting because you think you are going to be giving up fun, don’t wait. There is more fun and freedom on the other side. The same is true for my sinful pleasures to which I still stubbornly hold. There is more freedom and joy to be had when the Holy Spirit is able to grow good fruit in me. Satan lies when he says that sin is where the fun is because in sin there is only bondage. You offer freedom from that bondage and that is the only place where I will find love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness, kindness, and self control (Galatians 5:22-23)

Father, Help me to search my heart moment by moment so that I can always be willing to let go of what I think will bring me joy and cling to the one true source of joy. And help me to not worry abut my neighbor or adversary owes me, but help me to focus on what I own my adversary. You didn’t call me to look out for my rights, but to simply love you and love others.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 30, 2020 in Matthew, My Utmost for His Highest Scripture of the Day

 

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Matthew 7:1-5

23 Jun

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:1-5

Dear God, this is the verse yesterday from My Utmost for His Highest. I don’t normally read his commentary before I start typing to you, but I read the first few sentences today. He had an interesting sentence in there: “There is a difference between retaliation and retribution.” He says that what Jesus is indicating in his different lessons is that we shouldn’t retaliate, but we should be aware that what goes around comes around.

I suppose the trick is to pull myself out of the retribution feedback loop by not retaliating. If someone is doing something wrong and I do not retaliate like I would normally want to then I am short-circuiting the natural order of things and exhibiting your love. After all, that’s what you’ve done with Jesus and your love for us. You love us unreasonably, and I am grateful for that.

I have a few relationships that I can gratefully say I stuck around even through what I perceived to be wrongs done to me. And after several years, I can say I’m glad I did. I’m glad I am not looking back now and thinking that I shouldn’t have let that relationship go 10 or 20 years ago. I haven’t always been perfect in those relationships. I’ve caused my share of pain as well. But I’m glad they are still there. Retribution is an interesting thing.

Father, help me to always be a source of mercy by drawing on the mercy you give me. Thank you for your mercy. Thank you for loving me. Now, please flow through me and take your love and mercy to others through my life.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 23, 2020 in Matthew

 

Ahithophel

13 Jun

2 Samuel 15-17

Dear God, Fred Smith taught me something I didn’t know this week in his blog post “A Friend’s Revenge.” He taught me that Ahithoophel was likely Bathsheba’s grandfather, and the fact that Ahithophel aligned himself with Absalom in the attempted overthrow of David was possibly motivated by revenge for what David had done to Bathsheba and Uriah. What?!? How have I read that story so many times and not figured that out? I did a little research in Wikipedia (so it must be true) and it indicated that 2 Samuel 23:34 says Ahithophel was Eliam’s father, and 2 Samuel 11:3 tells us that Bathsheba’s father was named Eliam. This could have been a coincidence, but it would be an interesting vagueness for the author to leave us if the connection isn’t there.

That being said, and working from the assumption that this is true, I have a couple of thoughts.

  1. How did Ahithophel think this would end for Bathsheba and his great grandson Solomon? Absalom would certainly have killed Solomon, and Bathsheba would either have been killed or become Absalom’s wife/concubine. Given her age by that point, I doubt she would have been first choice for wife/concubine. So he was putting her in even more danger.
  2. Did he really think a kingdom run by Absalom would be better than a kingdom run by David. At that point, maybe he did. David seems to be  abdicating a lot of responsibility and lying down on the job. In fact, he was in a downward spiral ever since he decided not to go go and join the troops back when he hooked up with Bathsheba. I would imagine that succession planning was so unofficial back then that he might have been just trying to figure out which way the wind was blowing and go with it.
  3. Again, if this is true, then it was obviously an open secret what David had done to both Bathsheba and Uriah. That means that everyone knew including Solomon, which would help to explain why he treated women the way he did as an adult. Isn’t that what kings do?

But let me spend some time on this aspect of revenge as motivation. The most remarkable people in the world are those who do not seek revenge. Dr. Martin Luther King is regarded with more reverence by most people because he was forceful in his demands for justice and equality without being vengeful. The same is true for Nelson Mandela. In fact, in the midst of all of the racial tensions right now in this country, I wonder how much we have to learn from South Africa. I literally don’t know enough to know the answer to that question, but it is certainly remarkable that when Nelson Mandela came to power, as I understand it, he did not seek revenge on those who persecuted him.

I’ve wondered a lot this week about how Jesus would be responding right now if he were here in the flesh. Would he be attending protests? Would he be posting on social media? Would he be giving interviews or making public speeches? Would he just be talking to those in his sphere of influence and loving on them? Would he be seeking out regional and national leaders to give them counsel? Would he be participating on racial equality panels? Would he be vandalizing statues and destroying businesses and burning churches? Would he be taking photos of himself with a Bible? Some of these are obvious “yes’s” and some are obvious “no’s,” but many are vague and I don’t know what he would do. But I do know that revenge would not be part of the motivating factor. After all, even as he died, he asked that you would forgive those that were killing him.

Father, help me to be an instrument of your peace. Help me to know how to forcefully join a peaceful call for action that is not laden with revenge. And please raise up leaders who will lead in this spirit. The spirit of revenge that is flowing through our country right now is painful to watch. Let mercy lead.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 13, 2020 in 2 Samuel, Matthew

 

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Matthew 7:15-23

09 Jun

15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Matthew 7:15-23

Dear God, I confess to you that I am coming into these passages today with a huge amount of personal bias. There are leaders who profess to be your children, but, in my mind, they are ferocious wolves in sheep’s clothing. And I recognize it through their fruit. And I’m not linking this to any one particular political party in the U.S. I see hypocrisy everywhere.

So it’s important to think about the fact that Jesus says that I will be able to tell the truth about a person by their fruit. According to Galatians 5:19-21, here are the fruits of the ferocious wolf:

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But according to Galatians 5:22-23, here are the fruits of the sheep:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

From a political standpoint, I can’t say that I see many people who seem to be legitimate sheep. What I guess confuses me the most is that there are Christians who are labeling some of these leaders as Christians with no evidence based on these five verses. Someone says they are a Christian and they claim to be pro-life so they are accepted at your vessel. It’s almost surreal to me.

So what is my role in all of this? I confess to you, Father, that I do NOT pray for these leaders nearly enough. I don’t pray for their spiritual transformation. I don’t pray Proverbs 21:1 over them:

In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him.

You used Pilate. You used Samson. You have used Godless people throughout history for your purposes. Sometimes you’ve even managed to use me despite the fact that I am a fool. So father, I pray that you will be working in all of this. Give us as Christians and as a nation exactly what we need to bring us into complete repentance and surrender to you. As for me, I am sorry. I am sorry for my sin. I’m sorry for my racism, my selfishness, my lust, my gluttony, and my cowardice. Please give me the courage to do exactly what you want me to do and to not miss any of the opportunities you lay before me.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 9, 2020 in Galatians, Matthew, Proverbs

 

Habakkuk 3:12

08 Jun

In wrath you strode through the earth and in anger you threshed the nations.
Habakkuk 3:12

Dear God, this is an Old Testament passage. In light of the new covenant, what makes you angry now, and how do you handle that anger? I’ll start out by saying that I doubt I’ll be able to work through this deep theological issue this morning and in this format, but it’s an interesting question.

I guess I can try to think about what angered you and Jesus in the New Testament.

  • Hypocrisy among your believers — This is the first thing that came mind as I thought about Jesus. The hypocrisy of the Pharisees seemed to really anger him.
  • Disrespecting you for selfish gain — I’m thinking about Jesus clearing the Temple during Passover on this one. There were plenty of people who disrespected you, but to do it so brazenly for profit really angered him.
  • People who cause others to stumble (Luke 17:1-2).
  • Stubborn, unrepentant sinners who are confronted (Luke 17:3-4).
  • Christians who intentionally mislead people into thinking they are doing holier things than they really are (Acts 5:1-11).
  • Rejecting others who need our charity (Matthew 25:31-40).

Is there a theme in all of these things? If there is, it’s selfishness and deception among your believers.

So what is your response to these things now? Frankly, I don’t think I can be sure of the answer to that. Is it separation from you in eternity? I don’t know? Do you remove a certain level of protection from us to bring us to repentance? I don’t know. Do you actively punish us? I don’t know (although I tend to follow the school of thought that you might remove some protection before you actively punish). And, ultimately, I suppose my understanding of your response isn’t nearly as important as my understanding of what makes you angry in the first place. What grieves you.

Father, help me to not grieve you. Help me to not anger you. I’m sorry for my selfishness. I’m sorry that I still doubt you. I’m sorry that I still indulge my own vanity and actively cultivate a less than genuine image for others to see. I’m sorry I don’t pursue relationships with the poor and downtrodden. I hope, I hope, I hope that when you look at me you don’t see someone who is constantly grieving you because you don’t deserve that from me or any of us. You are a good and wonderful God and I am very grateful for your love.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 8, 2020 in Acts, Habakkuk, Luke, Matthew

 

Mothers of the Bible — Mary, the Mother of Jesus (Part 15)

13 May

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s preaching; and look—something greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look—something greater than Solomon is here. “When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it roams through waterless places looking for rest but doesn’t find any. Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to my house that I came from.’ Returning, it finds the house vacant, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that person’s last condition is worse than the first. That’s how it will also be with this evil generation.” While he was still speaking with the crowds, his mother and brothers were standing outside wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” He replied to the one who was speaking to him, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” Stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Matthew 12:38-50

Dear God, I wish I had done Part 14 and Part 15 in reverse order. I missed this story in chapter 12 before I did the story of Jesus in the synagogue from chapter 13. In reading this now, the order of the stories is that Mary and Jesus’s brothers were dissed here by Jesus, then he tells a bunch of parables by the sea, and then he goes into the synagogue and is rejected (and indicates his family has rejected him as well).

What a strange time this must have been for Mary. She apparently had a lot of children, both boys and girls. I wonder how much time she spent trying to calm the other children down as they dealt with Jesus as their brother. It had to have been hard for them, and it added an underappreciated layer of complexity to Mary’s life as a mother. Maybe it would have been easier for her to figure out how to be a mother to Jesus as an adult if he had been her only, but she had some other children to worry about as well. She was a mother to all of them. And I’m sure sometimes she did it right by standing up to them and telling them they were wrong about Jesus, and sometimes she did it wrong and gave into their perspective of him.

Being a parent, even of adult children, is so complicated. It’s true that our job to parent them is never quite over. As long as we are alive, there is a role for us to play, even if it is only to show them love. Then there are the decisions we have to make regarding whether to help them or not help them in a given situation. I hate to see them suffer, but I also don’t want to get in the way of how you might be working in their life through an obstacle that is in front of them. If I remove that obstacle, have I gotten in your way?

Father, thank you that our forefathers and foremothers we just people too. Thank you that you have given us examples of flawed people who were as lost about parenting as I feel sometimes. I would learn nothing if they were perfect, but none of them are. Now, please help my wife and me to parent our own children. Counsel us through each other and others. Raise up people in our children’s lives whom they can hear and will speak with your voice. Heal their wounds. Heal our wounds. And, in the end, be glorified in all of our lives.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 13, 2020 in Matthew, Mothers of the Bible

 

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Mothers of the Bible — Mary, the Mother of Jesus (Part 14)

12 May

When Jesus had finished these parables, he left there. He went to his hometown and began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, aren’t they all with us? So where does he get all these things?” And they were offended by him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his household.” And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
Matthew 13:53-58

This must have been such a confusing time for Jesus’s family and everyone who knew him growing up. It certainly seems that he was not only rejected at the synagogue, but also at home because he said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his household.” I wonder just how much grief he caught from everyone, including his family. And what were Mary’s thoughts regarding all of this? Had she lost sight of what she had heard from the angel 30 years before? Had the years worn her down a bit? Maybe she built up in her mind what her son’s life would be and she felt like it just wasn’t working out like it was supposed to. Maybe his siblings were complaining to her about him and she was giving into the pressure from them. Either way, it is apparent that Jesus was not feeling affirmed and supported.

This makes me think back to times when 1.) I didn’t have my wife around to help temper my reactions to my children’s behavior and 2.) one of the children would lobby me about how I should feel about the other and I would let their perspective unfairly influence my own. Number 1 is especially important because sometimes we definitely need that other parent to help guide us through frustrating times with our children when my emotions get the better of my judgment. I wonder how these stories might have been different if Joseph had still been around. I wonder how Joseph would have handled 30-year-old Jesus.

Father, thank you for giving me a co-parent. Thank you for giving me a wise woman to help me through those times when my emotions overrode my logic. I know there were times when I still failed my children, but the incidences are much fewer because I had a great co-parent. And I am sorry for when I failed to give my children what you needed them to have from me. I’m sorry for impatience and also for, at times, failing to give them what you needed them to have from me. I don’t have tons and tons of regrets, but I certainly have a few. Please guide all of us as we continue to mature in you.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 12, 2020 in Matthew, Mothers of the Bible

 

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Mothers of the Bible — Mary, the Mother of Jesus (Part 10)

01 May

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, because those who intended to kill the child are dead.” So he got up, took the child and his mother, and entered the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee. Then he went and settled in a town called Nazareth to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.
Matthew 2:19-23

Dear God, was this the dream Mary had been waiting for? Was she excited about going home or nervous? Probably both. I’m sure she was glad to get back to Israel but nervous that 1.) she would have to reckon with family and friends who might judge for her having a child older than her marriage and 2.) being back in the land where her son might be in danger. But still, she was going home.

I remember back in 2005 when we were trying to decide what to do about my work. The kids were nine and six years old, and we lived in Waco, Texas. I was up for jobs in Waco, Tyler, and Grand Rapids. I really wanted that Grand Rapids job. I remember wondering at the time what each path held for my children. What friends would they have in each city? Church experience? In some ways, I thought more about them than I thought about myself–at least, that’s how I remember it. How would this impact them? As it turned out, our path surprisingly saw us move closer to both my wife’s and my families of origin. I went from being almost 200 miles from my parents to 45 miles, and my wife when from being a difficult 100 miles to an easier 80 miles. But even with the benefit of hindsight, I couldn’t tell you if this was the right path for our children or not. Fifteen years later, it seems to have been the right path for me. I guess what I’ve done is come to a place where I have simply turned their paths over to you and trusted that you are leading them exactly where you need them to be regardless of whether or not I can see your plan with my own eyes.

Father, I’m sure there was a lot on Mary’s mind as they traveled back to Israel. At least, I suppose, they got some specific instructions from the angel on where to go. I hope that was a comfort to her and Joseph. I’m grateful for how you’ve comforted me over the years too. Parenting is hard, and worrying about your children is hard. But being in your presence brings me peace. Thank you for your presence.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 1, 2020 in Matthew, Mothers of the Bible

 

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Mothers of the Bible — Mary, Mother of Jesus (Part 9)

30 Apr

After they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and escaped to Egypt. He stayed there until Herod’s death, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled: Out of Egypt I called my Son.
Matthew 2:13-15

Dear God, other than Simeon’s prophecy at the temple, I think this might be Mary’s first inkling that there could be scary parts of being Jesus’s mother. What was that conversation between her and Joseph like?

Joseph: Mary! Mary, wake up!

Mary: What? What is it?

Joseph: We have to go.

Mary: What do you mean, “We have to go”? Go where?

Joseph: Egypt.

Mary: Egypt?!? What are you talking about? Can’t we talking about this in the morning?

Joseph: No. The angel said we have to go immediately.

Mary: You saw an angel?

Joseph: Yes, the angel came to me like he did before and told me, “Get up! Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to kill him.”

Mary: What?!? Are you sure that’s what he said?

Joseph: As sure as I was when he visited me last time and told me to marry you.

Mary: Okay, let’s go!

What was that trip like? Was it frantic? Did they finance it with the gold from the wise men? I wonder what plans they had for their lives that they now had to scrap to follow the angel’s instructions. Had she made friends? Had he hit his stride with his work? Were they planning on raising Jesus in Bethlehem?

Your call to them to raise Jesus was a call to a difficult life. I like to joke that I think Noah got one of the worst deals in the Bible because of the work he had to go through and it would probably have been easier to just die in the flood, but Mary and Joseph had some real obstacles of their own. It feels like their lives were all about sacrificing to fulfill this call.

Then they probably heard about this after they arrived in Egypt:

Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance.
Matthew 2:16

Survivors remorse? Guilt over their son’s existence having incited Herod into murdering those children? The anguish on behalf of all of those parents? Relief that they were safe in Egypt? I’m sure Mary had all of these things. I wonder how this whole event changed how protective she was of Jesus for the rest of his life.

Father, parenting can be scary. You can call us to sacrifice everything for the good of our children. Even when they are adults, their good can outweigh our own. And as we age into the end of our years, we need to consider our our own ending lives will impact them and die to ourselves for their benefit. So show me at any given moment what you are calling me to do for my children. Give me great discernment between what you need them to have from me and what you don’t need them to have from me. And everything you do for them or for me, make it something that is really for you and your glory, whatever it might cost me (and help me to be willing and ready to live up to those last words I just prayed).

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 30, 2020 in Matthew, Mothers of the Bible

 

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