God's Partners

A special treat this week as I share with you a message from Barney Cargile III, minister for the Sonoma Ave Church of Christ in Santa Rosa CA. God bless!

A few weeks ago I was picking cucumbers in our garden with my two-year-old granddaughter Olive.  She wanted to "help", so as I pulled each cuke off the vine, I handed them to her and she ran to the tub at the end of the row and dropped them in.  Each journey elicited a giggle from her, which, as you can imagine, brought me great delight.  Which do you suppose would have been easier: me tossing them in the tub or handing each individual cucumber to Olive?  If you've ever worked with small children, you know the answer.  But which brought me greater delight?  You know the answer as well.  The joy of my my "partnership" with Olive was worth every extra moment of time.  Did I need her "help"?  Of course not; but I wanted it.  Just think of all the joy I would have missed. 

Witnessing Olive's partnership with me, brought to mind our partnership with God.  God invites us to join him in his work of redeeming humankind (II Cor.5:18-20).  What an amazing thought that is: we are God's partners!  Ever wonder why God would choose to work through us?  Does he need our "help"?  Of course not!  But just as I wanted Olive's "help", he wants us as his partners.  Why?  I suppose for the same reason that I desired Olive's help: we bring him great delight.  Psalm 149:4 informs us that "the LORD takes delight in his people".  Speaking of the Messianic kingdom, Isaiah 62:4 promises that "the Lord will take delight in you."  Even Zephaniah (which has been labeled the "hottest book in the Bible"), declares "He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing (3:17)."  I'm confident that our Father who possesses perfect love takes far more delight in me than I ever could in Olive. So let that thought fill your heart as you close your eyes tonight and sleep: I'm a partner with the Creator of the universe, and He takes great delight in me!

Blessings,

Barney

Honor Thy Parents

One of my least favorite activities is clothes shopping. So the other day I got tricked into going back to school shopping with my wife and the kids. The reason I was tricked is that we went to see a movie and then the ever so sly "Hey, since we are by the mall..." routine.

To make matters worse, 2 of the shirts for the boys were the wrong size and I was asked to make the exchange if I was in the area. Surprisingly enough the exchange was pleasant and my anxiety level stayed in the greenish yellow area.

While in the store making the exchange I saw a family walk by with 2 young boys. As they passed I heard a little commotion and then a loud smack. Assuming it was a parent delivering an attitude adjustment I looked and noticed it was in fact one of the boys hitting his father. This will not end well for the youngster I thought to myself.

Needless to say, in today's society, the little boy got a good glaring at with a mad face. Yup, that was it; Hit dad and I will look at you with a mad face. Of course you know that didn't have the effect the parent was hoping for and as expected, the child began to laugh.

While I'm sure most of us who were raised with the paddle, belt, switch, etc. would have expected something more than a scowl, that's not what I am interested in today.

Call me a softy, but if you raise your children right, their is little need for corporal punishment. At the same time I also believe it is a necessary punishment. That brings to mind a verse we like to preach but seldom practice. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Ephesians 6:1-3 (NIV)

It's drilled into almost every child starting in Sunday school and for good reason. You seldom hear of people having a lack of respect for authority that were raised under this rule. 

As we grow older, many look at this as only applicable when we are younger, like turning 18 you are no longer bound by curfew laws. 

Even as we are children to earthly parents and grow up we still remain their children. To think that at a certain age we are no longer children is to be misinformed. At what point would you say that you are no longer one of God's children? 

To show the importance of honoring your parents take a look at Romans 1:29-13. Paul is writing about the sinfulness of humanity and talks about every kind of wickedness that has filled their hearts; They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents.

When talking about killers and gossips, I don't think Paul decides to pull in the 8-10 year old's who are also engaged in parental disobedience. We are instructed to have the highest honor for our parents, regardless of our age or our parents age. 

Remember these verses when you are upset with your parents over their decisions at any age in life.

As parents, we can also help our children grow to honor us as Proverbs 22:6 says Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from them.