The Lutheran Hour
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"Proper Perspective"
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Text: Mark 10: 13-16
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Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! The Divinely promised life, death, and resurrection of the Savior make no sense to the people of the world who trust in themselves. But to those of us who are saved, Jesus’ sacrifice is forgiveness and salvation. By God’s Spirit and power may we be given a proper perspective which says Jesus is the only Way, our God-give truth, the Giver of life eternal. In His Name, may our prayer be heard. Amen.
Children. Most people, not all, but most people love children. Sometimes it’s hard not to. After all, they’re so cute… they’re so trusting… they’re so honest… so forthright… so innocent… at least most are… some of the time. It’s been a number of years since a first grade teacher in one of our Lutheran Parochial schools shared her collection of memorable prayers made by her students. One of the students, whose name I’ve forgotten, asked, “Dear God, teacher tells us all the things You do. Who does all those things when You go on vacation?” Rachel shared a question which was on her heart, “Dear Lord, is it true my father won’t get into heaven if he uses his golf course words in the house?” In contrast, Sarah’s question was a bit more general. She asked, “Dear God, was the giraffe really supposed to look the way it does or are they an accident?” Thomas, whose grandfather had just died, spoke for many of us when he suggested: “Dear Lord, Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don’t You just let the living keep living?”
Perhaps the teacher’s favorite prayer was said by a little girl named Beth. Beth had wondered: “Jesus, is it difficult for you to love everybody? I think it has to be. There are only four people in my family and I have a tough time loving all of them.”
Now I’m sure the Lord Jesus loves the five people in Beth’s family. I say that because Jesus entered this world to save the souls of the people at Beth’s house and your house and the house of every person. He loves adults and Scripture today tells us He loves children. In truth, Jesus showed His love for children when He raised the young man of Nain and the little daughter of Jairus. Although Scripture doesn’t say, I have to believe at least one of the ten lepers whom Jesus healed had to have a wife and children from whom he’d been separated. When Jesus healed that leper, He brought healing to the man’s children, too. Yes, Jesus loves children. He showed that love when He cast devils out of a boy who was being tortured and tormented; He showed it when He corrected the disciples who were doing their best to keep children from His side.
On that occasion He said to His disciples: “Boys, don’t stop those children from being brought to me; it is to people like this that the kingdom of God belongs. Indeed, you should know, any person who doesn’t receive the kingdom of God like a child is not going to get in.” After that Jesus took those little children in His arms and blessed them.
Please note what Jesus didn’t say. The Lord didn’t say “Tolerate the little children in coming to me” or “Put up with little children coming to Me” or “Don’t get angry with the little children coming to Me.” Are you surprised? Of course you’re not! YOUR Savior would never say something as cold and callous as: “Tolerate the little children who want to come to Me.” You say that because you are a person who is living in the 21st century and in a country where a premium is placed on being young, looking young, thinking young. It has not always been that way. Over the centuries, in many cultures and countries, age and wisdom were the qualities which were respected, And children well, the children had to prove themselves before they were honored and envied and that would happen only if they managed to survive the dangers of childhood.
Remember, survival for a youngster in the ancient world could be problematic. For example, if you had gone to ancient Carthage, you would have seen parents sacrificing their children to gain the attention and approval of their false gods. Of course, murdering children was a practice which the Greeks and Romans found to be repulsive. That’s why, rather than personally killing their babies, the parents from those ancient nations kept their consciences clean. This they did by placing their unwanted children alongside the road so nature might take its course.
Now you can begin to see just how exceptional Jesus was. His statement is exceptional because, properly translated, He told His disciples to welcome little children. They were to extend to children the same care and consideration, the same hospitality which they might normally reserve for someone who was a respected member of the community or an honored guest at their table. Jesus encouraged His followers to welcome the unwanted, unwashed waif and be caring to the little ones who were dirty and diseased, filthy and forsaken by everyone else.
Then after Jesus had explained how His followers should act towards children, Jesus gave them an example. He turned His attention from His hand-picked twelve; from the other important people who were listening; from those who were sick in body and soul, from the Pharisees who wanted to mess with His mind and ministry by asking Him one more trick question; from all His supporters and all His detractors. Yes, Jesus turned to the children, picked them up in His arms and blessed them. With all my heart I wish the Gospel writers had taken the time to record those special words which sprang from the Lord’s heart and rested upon the young that day. What Jesus said in those blessings is not recorded, but what He said immediately before His time with the children is. As He turned to the little ones, He made this statement for anyone who would listen and learn. Jesus said, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.”
Want me to repeat that? Be glad to. “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not get in.” You may be forgiven if you find yourself asking, “Exactly what does that mean? Does Jesus give us any more information? Does He tell us what qualities a child has which adults don’t have? No. The Savior makes His statement and that’s it. Apparently He wants us to figure out what quality our children possess which we lack.
“What’s my kid got that I don’t?” That question, my friends, is a tough one. This past week I searched commentaries for an answer; I went to my learned friends; I sat down and visited with moms and dads. The answers I received were many and varied. Some of the folks suggested, “Children are more trusting than adults.” At first that sounded like a reasonable explanation. We do need to have faith in Jesus as the Savior if we are to have our sins forgiven and become members of the kingdom. “But,” I asked myself, “is trust a quality children have in abundance and is lacking in adults?”
Any pastor who has shaken hands with the members of his congregation after worship knows the answer to that question. They can tell you that while a few children are glad, willing, eager to shake their hands, a pretty high percentage are not. Children don’t necessarily trust this robed fellow who has been talking non-stop for what seems like forever. That’s why, as their parents are shaking pastor’s hands, these non-trusting children bury their faces into the shoulder of mother or father or try to sneak by unnoticed in the shadow of an older brother or sister. You preachers, you will verify there are children who, when you say, “Hello there, little Gustav; Good morning, young Brunhilda,” they take one look at you and let out a scream which makes the congregation believe you just stuck them with a hat pin. No, I don’t think trust is the special quality Jesus is telling us to get if we’re to be part of the kingdom of God.
Actually, trust was not the only idea my advisers gave me. They came up with a whole laundry list of possibilities. One mother said we are to be innocent like children. I liked that. Then I remembered the little boy who was writing his Christmas letter to Santa. As his list of required presents was quite long, he felt he had to explain why he deserved them. Boldly he wrote, “I’ve been good for six months now.” When he finished that line, he stopped to think. Just a moment later he erased “six months” and wrote in “two weeks.” Another pause, another bit of thinking. This time he got up from his table, walked over to the family Nativity scene, picked up Mary, put her in his pocket. Then, with everything as he wished it to be, he sat down and wrote, “Santa, if you ever want to see Mary get back together with her family, this is what I’m going to need for Christmas.” I don’t think children are all that innocent.
Similarly the attributes of gentility, kindness, caring, and compassion were received and rejected. As was, being at peace, having a clean conscience, and doing what we’re told. I could agree that some children had those qualities, but so did some adults. And, just as some adults don’t possess those gifts, some children are bereft of those qualities as well. Which took me back to square one. By now I was no longer looking for information for this sermon… I was on a quest. I needed to know, “What do children have that I don’t have when it comes to being part of the kingdom of God?”
It took a long time but I think I may have found an answer. The thing children have, the thing which we adults lose, is perspective. That’s it: children have a proper perspective of things. Let me try to explain. When I was young, my father was really tall. He was really smart. He was really strong and he could do anything. If the TV was broken, he took the tubes out of the back, drove down to Rexall drug, and tested them in a big, blue tube testing machine. He replaced the tube which was burned out, put everything back in its right place and, voila, we had a picture again.
But Dad knew more than just TV tubes. He knew how to ride the train into downtown Chicago; and he knew how to mix paint, and he knew the make and model of every car on the road, and he knew how to talk German. He knew how to read the music in the hymnal, and he knew how to make breakfast, even though Mom said he made a mess. Dad knew how a guy should stand and hold the bat in baseball and how to throw a football so it spiraled through the air. In the days before new math, he could help me with my homework and he could tell in a minute whether a farmer’s corn crop was healthy or sick. It simply never occurred to me that Dad couldn’t do or know everything. Bigger than life, that was my perspective in regard to Father.
But then, somewhere, somehow, things changed. Looking back, I can’t say when things changed, but they did. As I grew, everything and everybody began to shrink. It didn’t take too long to realize my father wasn’t NBA material and by 9th grade I was taller than he was. As I advanced in school and got smarter, it seemed Dad got dumber. By my mid-teens, I had things figured out; I had the answers. And Dad, Dad didn’t. The years had given me a new perspective. Now I could plainly see Dad was an old-fashioned square, a relic, a loser, a fellow who was behind the times. I started listening more to my friends and less to him. When my Dad would try to teach me something, well, he might as well not have bothered. He couldn’t teach me because I wasn’t listening. My professors, they knew; my text books, the newspapers, the TV anchors, they all knew. Everybody knew except Dad. Dad didn’t know nuthin’.
Now I share all this not because I’m proud of what I did. I’m not proud of the fact that I was, in my high-school years, a punk. I share my story because I know your story probably isn’t much different. Our lives are such, that if we are to grow, if we are to mature, if we are to move out in the world, we have to cut the apron strings of parental dependence and think for ourselves. When we start thinking for ourselves, it doesn’t take too long for us to figure out that if mom and dad have their flaws and failings, so does everyone else. We are disappointed to find out the most brilliant mind is sometimes wrong; the most perfect athlete sometimes stumbles, the greatest boss can be a bear, the most beautiful face has its flaws. That’s why many people end up thinking, “If I’m going to survive, I have to rely on the one person who is really concerned about my welfare and my future…. me.” It is a lousy perspective on life, but it is the one many folks embrace.
Now if you think it’s a sad thing to see the erosion of a child’s perspective and relationship with his parents, believe me, it’s far worse when the same thing happens to his association with God. Let’s see if this sounds familiar: you began life with the perspective which said God was God and you were not. You knew that If you were going to go to heaven and not hell, it was because of Jesus’ sacrifice. If you were going to be saved, it was because God cared about you and put into action a plan to rescue you from the devil, the world, and yourself.
But then something happened to change your perspective. Maybe you read a book, or you saw a TV program, or you met someone who didn’t believe as you did. Maybe someone you loved died; even though you had prayed for their healing, they still died. Maybe someone asked, “If God is so kind and merciful, how come there is so much suffering in the world?” or “If God really is good, how come He let us fall into sin?” or “If God cares, how come people have to suffer and die?” Somewhere, and you may not remember exactly where or how, your perspective and your relationship with the Lord started to change. Maybe you were hurt by some people who said they were Christians but didn’t act like Christians. Your perspective changed and it changed radically. No longer was God going to judge you… you were going to judge God. You came to believe that you, not God knew what was best… and if God didn’t like it, well, that was just too bad. You had to do what you felt was right for you. You found a new perspective, a perspective which said, ‘You were God and God was not.” My friend, excuse me for saying so, but this perspective is a lousy one and an unsustainable one.
It’s lousy because you have thrown the baby out with the bath water. Yes, there are times when life seems unfair. If that’s what’s separated you from the Lord, then blame sin and not the Person Who has sent His Son to save you from that sin. If you’ve encountered a hard question in regard to your faith; don’t assume there is no answer. There is an answer. Look for it in the Bible and you will find it. If you’ve met some nasty Christians, know it is a mistake to judge the sinless Redeemer by the poor deportment of those He has come to save.
But there’s more. The perspective which says you can live your life without God is unsustainable. The day will come, the situation will arise which you will not be able to handle. That day may be when the doctors tell you, “There is nothing more we can do for your child.” That day may come when a trusted friend lets you down or a beloved spouse betrays you. Whatever the situation, on that day, in those circumstances your resources and your self-confidence will crumble and your self-assurance will crash. On that day you will, if you are honest, come to the Lord for help. You will come to Him because He is the only Person Who can help. On that day you will come with a new perspective, a perspective which prays, as hundreds of millions before you have prayed, “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.” And on that day you will be relieved to find the Lord Who sent His Son to save you from your sins, will be merciful.
You know my friends, I remember the day when I, the wise guy, went to my father for help. It was a struggle for me to do so. I had been a punk for so long I was sure he would say, “Bug off. You didn’t need me before; I guess you don’t need me now.” That’s not what happened; not at all. After I had apologized and after he had helped me, I said, “Dad, thank you. I’m glad you’re here to help. I didn’t have anyone else who could.” Hearing that He turned to me and said, “Welcome home, son. I’m glad the day finally arrived when you wised up and found out I was your best friend, not a dumb relic from the past. Welcome home, I’ve been waiting.”
Today I can assure you that if you allow the Holy Spirit to bring you back to your Lord and Savior; if you say, “Forgive me for ever thinking I knew better than You; was smarter than You, could run my life better than You. Forgive me for thinking my limited knowledge was more to be trusted than Your Holy Word.” If you are returned to the Lord you can be sure He will say, “Welcome home. I’m glad you’ve finally realized, I am your strongest Ally; my Son is your only Savior. Welcome home, I’ve been waiting.”
That is the proper perspective children have with God. If you’ve lost it, be sure God waits and is ready to help you get it back. He wants you home. To that end, if we can be of help, please, call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for October 7, 2012
Topic: Hard QuestionsANNOUNCER: Now, Pastor Ken Klaus responds to questions Christians supposedly can’t answer. I’m Mark Eischer.
KLAUS: Hi, Mark.
ANNOUNCER: I understand we’re beginning a little “series” today.
KLAUS: I think so. We’re going to spend a few sessions answering questions Christians can’t answer. At least that’s the opinion of a doubting listener.
ANNOUNCER: And this was prompted by some correspondence you received?
KLAUS: It is. It comes from a man who thinks of himself as an agnostic–a “former Christian.” He has questions no one could answer to his satisfaction. He says he’s looking for “rational, verifiable answers.”
ANNOUNCER: And I suppose that’s all right. Jesus spent a lot of time and energy talking with people who had doubts or serious questions.
KLAUS: Indeed, the only time He had a problem was when somebody tried to play games with Him or try to trap Him with a trick question.
ANNOUNCER: I heard about a college professor who liked to throw out all these knotty questions concerning Christianity and one day, a student said, “Now, if I could answer all of your questions, would you then believe in Jesus?” The professor said: “Absolutely not!” Well, actually the professor used language we can’t say here, but you get the idea.
KLAUS: Good point. Sometimes such questions can be “game playing” for skeptics.
ANNOUNCER: Well, could you set down for us, maybe, some guidelines and principles for how to answer these supposedly unanswerable questions?
KLAUS: Can do. First, we pray for discernment. We ask God to help us see beyond the words and discern what’s really being asked. We also pray the Holy Spirit may use our responses to speak to this individual and others who feel the same.
ANNOUNCER: Anything else?
KLAUS: Yes, there are times we will speak to questions which begin with bad assumptions or are distorted. Sometimes people get so rabid in their desire to shoot holes in the Bible and our faith they go off half-cocked or speak in areas where they are not as well-versed as they ought be.
ANNOUNCER: Sometimes we hear, “leave the Bible out of this.” What then?
KLAUS: That’s like a drowning man calling for a lifeguard to save him, but adding the qualifier, “But don’t use your hands or feet to swim to me.” Our answers are based on God’s s Word because that’s the foundation of what we believe. The reality is this… we are trying to explain a limitless God with our limited minds and limited vocabulary. Having said that, we also acknowledge when Jesus was challenged by Satan, His answers were all based on God’s Word and His actions in regard to humanity… and that includes the miracles of His grace and His ability to override the rules which He has set in place and by which the universe is generally run.
ANNOUNCER: Now, what about the questions themselves?KLAUS: While there is no question which is strictly off limits, we are cautious when somebody wants to create a “no-win” scenario.
ANNOUNCER: Now, here’s a sample of what that might be. Here’s a question, “if Noah’s Ark landed on Mt. Ararat in Turkey, how did penguins manage to get all the way to the North Pole?”
KLAUS: Yeah, and probably the question is not limited to just penguins; probably includes animals that need a very specific diet or set of living conditions, live in a remote place. Questions based on the assumption the conditions of today are exactly the same as they were when the Ark came to rest on Ararat. Considering the Bible has just described a world which had been transformed by an unparalleled global catastrophe, the question itself starts in the wrong place as far as Christians are concerned.
Having said that, there are still answers to the question. For example we could say: at that time animals would be drawn to and wander toward those places where they would best fit in. Fast moving streams and rivers would allow penguins to cover tremendous differences in a short time. In regard to other animals who have specific dietary needs today, that may or may not have been the case back then. It is possible that they were able to digest plants which today’s descendants cannot.
ANNOUNCER: I can think of a modern-day example of what we’re talking about here. Do you recall that 60-foot concrete dock from Japan that washed up on the shore of Oregon earlier this year? It was ripped loose during the tsunami and it drifted thousands of miles across the ocean and it brought with it tons of marine species that had never been seen before in North America.
KLAUS: Great example. A disaster brought species across the ocean. The point is this: we, along with our questioner, are making certain assumptions. We can prove by history, that things don’t remain the same. There are catastrophes which change things. On the other hand, he assumes things stay the same. That is difficult to prove… especially when everybody is talking about global warming. Both of us are using our reason to make assumptions. I think our assumptions are more logical and verifiable.
ANNOUNCER: And, more on this series next week. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music Selections for this program:
A Mighty Fortress” arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
“Let the Little Children Come to Me” by Theodore Beck. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“God’s Own Child, I Gladly Say It” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House)
“Fantasia in G” by J.S. Bach. From Martinikerk Groningen by Wim van Beek (© 1990 Sound-Products Holland)