God's Little Ones
<< Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." >> (Matthew 19:14)
Children are defined, according to Thesaurus as
1) sons or daughters, babies or infants, people regarded as conditioned, or marked by given circumstances.
2) Immature people, or people who have little or no experience in particular areas.
Children, in the world, are considered as unimportant, uninfluential, weak entities, dependent individuals who have no power in themselves. The children in today's society are all people who are marginalized, rejected, misfits, deemed as unimportant, uninfluential, irrelevant, because of their seemingly small stature, their lack of social power or charisma, often judged in a materialistic way, and mostly based on social status, economic class, racial group, appearance, social heritage, culture, original ancestry, financial assets, job titles, etc... (You name it!)
While the world rejects the little ones, Jesus embraces them. To Him, they are the owners, the managers, the possessors of the Kingdom of Heaven. In the book of Matthew 19:13, is portrayed the contrast between how the world neglects the little ones, while our Lord elevates them.
<< Children were brought to Jesus that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them.>> (Matthew 19:13)
<< The poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends.>> (Proverbs 14:20)
On another side, in Matthew 19
<< After he placed his hands on them, he went away.>> (Matthew 19:15)
Jesus is all about raising up the lowly, the abandoned, the rebuked, the despised, the insulted, the ridiculed, God embraces the humiliated, and all the people who are not strong as defined by the society we live in.
Jesus left right after He blessed the children and prayed on them. Mission accomplished. Job done. Jesus was done doing His job, after laying hands on the children. He was like "goodbye, I've finished my job! See you all later! "
This is the God we serve. The God of the weak. Not the God of the "Mighty". The God of the feeble, the little one, the baby girl, the baby boy, the unexpected, the forgotten, the nobody. This is who our God uses and elevates. To show the world that He alone is God.
In the Gospel of Matthew, the first of the eight beatitudes states:
<< Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.>> (Matthew 5:3)
The poor of spirit are those who do not think highly of themselves. They are those the world does not expect to see in high places. They are the invisible, seen by God. They are the David ("There is still the youngest", [...] "He is tending the sheep" (1 Samuel 16:11), the Joseph, the Esther, the Ruth, the St. Bernadette of Soubirous, the St. Lucia of Fatima, the Theresa of Calcutta. God our Father "has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate." (Luke 1:52). We serve such a marvelous God Who will not let any of His creatures feel inferior, unimportant, irrelevant. That is exactly when He steps up and stands up for His child!
If you allow me to share my personal story with you, I had an internship with a food company in Chicago my junior year of College. Not only was I the youngest person in my team, I was also the newest employee, a "black woman" (or minority laughs), the only person with an accent, born and raised in the "poorest continent" of Africa and not even a full-time employee, and not from the Chi-city!
My final project involved organizing a food drive community project in a very small two-week time-frame. As an intern, and in such a fast-paced environment, I was considered a "child" with a "childish" project. But I had to find goods to donate to a pantry! I was thinking nobody would care, as some people even laughed at my project, in the beginning! (Watch out with your closest co-workers, y'all!) But God used this project to donate to the poor through His Mercy for His Glory alone more than 2,000 lbs. (1966 items of unexpired non-perishable food items) in two weeks.
This is the God we serve. The God of the lowly, the God of the young (not age-wise), the God of the ridiculed, the God of the despised, the God of the weak. These are the people He died for. He is our Savior, and our Lord Jesus-Christ, and to Him goes all the glory. In Jesus Name. Amen
CAL
Dear God, we thank You for Your love for us. We thank You that You gave Your life so that all Your children, with no exception, may live abundantly and experience Your love. Thank You for giving worth to Your children, and dignity to the oppressed. Thank You Lord, and we give all the Glory to You. Humbly, we ask that You lift all our brothers and sisters in the world who are undignified, marginalized, despised, torn apart, insulted, rejected, not belonging, and You take this weakness for Your Glory, and turn them into powerhouses as You did Your disciples whom You chose from lowly places oh Lord. Please, give a sense of worth & dignity and confidence and beauty and relevance to all Your children in the world, especially those who do not love themselves! When they are weak God, please be strong! In Jesus Name we pray. Amen!
While the world rejects the little ones, Jesus embraces them. To Him, they are the owners, the managers, the possessors of the Kingdom of Heaven. In the book of Matthew 19:13, is portrayed the contrast between how the world neglects the little ones, while our Lord elevates them.
<< Children were brought to Jesus that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them.>> (Matthew 19:13)
<< The poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends.>> (Proverbs 14:20)
On another side, in Matthew 19
<< After he placed his hands on them, he went away.>> (Matthew 19:15)
Jesus is all about raising up the lowly, the abandoned, the rebuked, the despised, the insulted, the ridiculed, God embraces the humiliated, and all the people who are not strong as defined by the society we live in.
Jesus left right after He blessed the children and prayed on them. Mission accomplished. Job done. Jesus was done doing His job, after laying hands on the children. He was like "goodbye, I've finished my job! See you all later! "
This is the God we serve. The God of the weak. Not the God of the "Mighty". The God of the feeble, the little one, the baby girl, the baby boy, the unexpected, the forgotten, the nobody. This is who our God uses and elevates. To show the world that He alone is God.
In the Gospel of Matthew, the first of the eight beatitudes states:
<< Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.>> (Matthew 5:3)
The poor of spirit are those who do not think highly of themselves. They are those the world does not expect to see in high places. They are the invisible, seen by God. They are the David ("There is still the youngest", [...] "He is tending the sheep" (1 Samuel 16:11), the Joseph, the Esther, the Ruth, the St. Bernadette of Soubirous, the St. Lucia of Fatima, the Theresa of Calcutta. God our Father "has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate." (Luke 1:52). We serve such a marvelous God Who will not let any of His creatures feel inferior, unimportant, irrelevant. That is exactly when He steps up and stands up for His child!
If you allow me to share my personal story with you, I had an internship with a food company in Chicago my junior year of College. Not only was I the youngest person in my team, I was also the newest employee, a "black woman" (or minority laughs), the only person with an accent, born and raised in the "poorest continent" of Africa and not even a full-time employee, and not from the Chi-city!
My final project involved organizing a food drive community project in a very small two-week time-frame. As an intern, and in such a fast-paced environment, I was considered a "child" with a "childish" project. But I had to find goods to donate to a pantry! I was thinking nobody would care, as some people even laughed at my project, in the beginning! (Watch out with your closest co-workers, y'all!) But God used this project to donate to the poor through His Mercy for His Glory alone more than 2,000 lbs. (1966 items of unexpired non-perishable food items) in two weeks.
This is the God we serve. The God of the lowly, the God of the young (not age-wise), the God of the ridiculed, the God of the despised, the God of the weak. These are the people He died for. He is our Savior, and our Lord Jesus-Christ, and to Him goes all the glory. In Jesus Name. Amen
CAL
Dear God, we thank You for Your love for us. We thank You that You gave Your life so that all Your children, with no exception, may live abundantly and experience Your love. Thank You for giving worth to Your children, and dignity to the oppressed. Thank You Lord, and we give all the Glory to You. Humbly, we ask that You lift all our brothers and sisters in the world who are undignified, marginalized, despised, torn apart, insulted, rejected, not belonging, and You take this weakness for Your Glory, and turn them into powerhouses as You did Your disciples whom You chose from lowly places oh Lord. Please, give a sense of worth & dignity and confidence and beauty and relevance to all Your children in the world, especially those who do not love themselves! When they are weak God, please be strong! In Jesus Name we pray. Amen!
Comments
Post a Comment