Category Archives: Obedience

Happy Helping

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In this blog space I’ve already shared that my greatest desire as a mom has always been to see my 7+2+7 (7 children, 2 children-in-law, 7 grands) embrace the Word of God and walk in its truth. My mom prayed the same for her 3+3+17, and she did even more than that. She offered to babysit our little ones so we, as young mothers, could attend Bible study.

Organized women’s studies with workbooks, weekly lectures, and discussion groups were a new thing back then, and Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) met in a church just across the street from Mom’s house. She’d already attended herself and said she had soaked up enough. It was time to pass on the blessings to the next generation.

Since BSF had a teaching program for children ages 2-5, our babies weren’t included, so Mom stepped in. Despite having broken her back in multiple places and being in her 70’s, she met us each week at the door with good cheer, already wearing her work apron, to care for our babies. Then, as the months and years passed, she never said no to additional moms wanting to study Scripture, sometimes caring for 6 or 7 babies at once.

Our weekly routine was: drop the babies at 9:00 am, return at 11:30, and find Mom had made lunch for all of us. If these were stressful hours for her, she never let on. Instead she regaled us with stories of what a blessing it was to be able to babysit.

Mom’s willingness to give a mountain of time, energy, and creativity to the little ones did several things:

  • elevated her to servanthood status in God’s sight.
  • boosted her heavenly rewards significantly.
  • frustrated the enemy by removing an obstacle that would have kept young mothers from attending Bible study.
  • bonded her to a crowd of little ones.

Mom would add one more: “They kept me young!”

Children less than 2 years old are needy, inconvenient, and labor-intensive, but they’re no less important to God than anyone else. Since Mom agreed with him on that, he empowered her to do what she did.

Those of us who “used” her to babysit walked back through her kitchen door after Bible study each week refreshed from quality time away from our 24/7 children, brimming with gratitude. When we tried to put the toys away, Mom would say, “Oh leave that for me. It’s such a happy mess” and we  believed her.

Not all of us are called to care for babies, but we are called to elevate the study of Scripture. And if we’re looking for a surefire way to get “spiritual brownie points” on God’s reward board, we can facilitate this kind of study in the lives of others… of course that’s after we first promote it in our own.

“Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, My servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves Me.” (John 12:26)

Thirst-Quenching Love

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All of us parents know that loving a child requires sacrifice. Love is why we do it, and we’re more than willing to give up whatever it takes to be a good mom or dad.

When we look at the life of Jesus, we see that he sacrificed, too, not just on the cross but every day in smaller ways. What were some of those day-to-day sacrifices he made because he loved us?

Last weekend I heard a sermon about the Samaritan woman at the well who had a one-on-one encounter with Christ without knowing who he was. We’ve all read that story from John 4 and have heard more than a few teachings on it. But as always in studying God’s Word, there’s more to learn.

Our speaker detailed the narrative, beginning with a simple descriptive statement that let us know what condition Jesus’ was in when he arrived at the well. Scripture says, “Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.” So, in this very dry desert area, in the heat of the day, the man-Jesus needed a drink badly.

He asked the woman if she would draw a little water for him with the jug she’d brought, but a conversation ensued instead. They talked all around water without drinking any, and a considerable length of time passed. What was new to me, however, was realizing for the first time that although Jesus was still very thirsty, he never got his drink.

He could have insisted. After all, he was a man, and she was a woman, and it was the women of that day who drew the water. But his number one concern was not for his own thirst but for the woman’s dry soul and those of her friends and neighbors. His goal was to get them all saved. If it meant being parched, he’d do it.

Jesus was very thirsty another time, too: on the cross. He was suffering intensely, so tortured that he would soon die, but his severe thirst prompted him to ask for a drink. Once again, though, his thirst was left unsatisfied. The overwhelming love that kept him on the cross was willing to give up everything because of his goal to save our souls.

How often do I crack open a bottle of water without a thought of not being able to quench my thirst? Each swallow should remind me to thank him again for enduring such intense thirst so that I could drink his living water.

One day I came to Him, I was so thirsty.
I asked for water, my throat was so dry.
He gave me water that I had never dreamed of.
But for this water, my Lord had to die.

He said, “I thirst” yet he made the river.
He said, “I thirst” yet he made the sea.
“I thirst,” said the king of the ages.
In His great thirst He brought water to me. *

“Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. For he satisfies the thirsty…” (Psalm 107:8-9)

*(By Robin Walker)

Take your lumps.

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Safety in this life can’t be guaranteed. As a matter of fact, safety as a goal isn’t necessarily a good one.

Take backyard safety, for example. Hans and Katy were given a set of jungle gym bars and an attached slide when their twins were less than two years old. They explained how to climb on the bars with care and demonstrated the proper way to use the slide.

Their 3 little monkeys took to it immediately, practicing not only the right way to do everything but also the wrong way. I’ve watched them climb with wet feet that slipped and delivered a bop to the chin. They’ve gone down face first into a mouthful of grass. They’ve swung from the highest bars simultaneously, crashing in the middle. They’ve rushed down the slide hoping to bang into the one still at the bottom.

Backyard safety isn’t easy to come by. But if Katy played the role of mother-hover trying to prevent bumps and bruises, she’d also be eliminating valuable learning. Every little accident gives new knowledge that will permanently come in handy.

It’s a good idea to let children take their lumps.

God the Father does the same with us. He lets us try to handle our “toys”, those things we’re convinced will improve our lives or make us happy, but he first spells out the rules in Scripture. We nod our heads in agreement. We might even memorize what he says. But trouble comes when we suggest add-ons that we think will work well, too.

For example, God carefully instructs us how to have a satisfying marriage, but we tack on ideas of our own, thinking they’ll only serve to enhance what God said. It’s absurd to think he might not know the best way to do things, and even more ridiculous to think we might know more than he does.

Those misconceptions are exactly what mankind’s first foray into sin was all about. Satan tempted Eve (and her husband, who was listening in) by telling them the only reason God forbid them to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden was so they wouldn’t be all-wise like he was. That convinced them of two things: (1) they wanted to be wise, and (2) they wanted to be like God. Their next move was, “Crunch. Mmmm.”

It’s a good idea for us to avoid thinking that same way about God’s instructions and rules.

Young children fully believe the world revolves around them, and when natural consequences (falling off the jungle gym) prove otherwise, valuable lessons are learned. If we as adults ignore or twist what our authorities tell us by writing our own rules, especially if it revises what God has already said, we’ll end up with some negative consequences, too. They might come from the police, a teacher, a judge, or God himself and will be far more serious than a fall from a jungle gym. But hopefully, taking our lumps will help us learn.

“May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in obedience to him.” (1 Kings 8:58)