Do You Appreciate the Joy and Wonder of Life?
Good Morning Friends,
It does not begin with love, as is I believe the typical first Christian response, but of awe and the therapeutic cleansing of the soul. For the Jew congregating in the Second Temple today’s Psalm would have been like an order of worship. When Jesus blessed the little children I imagine he created that kind of sensation of joy in them. You might well see it in the eyes of a man in remission of cancer and yesterday I did. I also saw that kind of response in the eyes of the children who met soon to be installed basketball Hall of Famer, Spencer Haywood. I also saw it in Spencer Haywood’s eyes and the voice of a man walking the line and waiting…a man whose hands God used to pick cotton and shoot basketballs. The venue was in a town of more than tomato pickers at a youth basketball clinic at Immokalee High School. The youth, some as young as three somehow knew that they were being blessed. Indeed the place was filled with people who enjoyed life and would make a joyful noise in awe of God. Here was an intimate experience God had prepared to be redeemed for such a time as this. And I am filled with awe that I get to witness it unfold. Vindication maybe but something more beautiful was being written into the story. Do You Appreciate the Joy and Wonder of Life?
Scripture: O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed. O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice!
Psalm 95:1-7 (NRSV)
People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they sternly ordered them not to do it. 16But Jesus called for them and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. 17Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’
Luke 18:15-17 (NRSV)
16Then someone came to him and said, ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?’ 17And he said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.’ 18He said to him, ‘Which ones?’ And Jesus said, ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; 19Honour your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ 20The young man said to him, ‘I have kept all these;* what do I still lack?’ 21Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money* to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ 22When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Matthew 19:16-22 (NRSV)
Message: Do you have the ability to love easily? Do you have an uninhibited nature? Are you utterly dependent? Are you simple and uncomplicated when it comes to what you want? Are you like a child? I hope you are. Today’s Psalm brings focus and attention to our collective interactions in the world across the span of our lives. I am not sure whether it begins with a relationship of love of a mother for a child and a child for a mother, or it begins with awe of the Father. Even though I know that wherever I go, He is already there, I sometimes find it difficult to rejoice in His awesome transcendence. But then the more profound our relationship is with God the deeper our sense of awe and reverence. The cycle begins again. And it never seems to come back void. For here in His personal presence with others who know God I engage in a process that focuses my attention and magnifies my appreciation for His majesty as people begin to worry less and believe more. Here I am blessed as a child with awe, joy and love. Here I am in awe of the price paid. Here I am in love with life and amazed by grace.
Friends, knowledge of this is good…wisdom is essential, but it is the condition of our hearts not our heads that most pleases God. In today’s gospel scripture we see the important place of children in God’s Kingdom. I appreciate it the more because of today’s Psalm. And it is by no mistake that the passage right after today’s Gospel scripture is the story of the rich young ruler…a man blinded by power unable to trust. See how Jesus reveals himself to the child-like and He conceals Himself to the proud. The two stories interpret each other and stand in juxtaposition. Notice that the children have no status in society…they own no property, they have no legal rights, and for the most part they live free from anxiety accept when they are separated from their family. Remember we are never smarter than God… Remember the Kingdom is for those who crawl toward it…for those who are picked up and carried in the loving arms of Jesus.
Pray we experience God’s call for us to rejoice. Pray we experience God’s call for us to become reverent. Pray we act on God’s call for us to respond with love. Pray we worship in truth. Pray we engage our body, soul and spirit complete with our emotions in worship. Pray we give up our false claim on those things we love more than God so in a new process we can begin again. Pray we let our joy and love be evidence of His greatness. Pray we be satisfied in Him so that He might be glorified in us. Pray we discover that He is in control of His creation and gives us both the challenge and the promise of an adventure in it. Pray we be filled with awe, excitement, fascination, mystery and love that returns to awe when we collectively worship our creator. Pray our reverence grows as our intimacy with Him grows. Pray we hear His voice and respond in love. Pray we never have hardened hearts. Pray our hands touch the hands of those touched by God and become hands that touch others for God. Pray that our faith be simple. Pray that we have an uninhibited trust…a wholehearted simplicity that rejoices in the joy and wonder of it all. Pray that we are amazed by the faith of children when they pray…when the lips of children ordain praise. Pray that we all come into the open arms of Jesus and receive a blessing from Him.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 