Wednesday, December 14, 2022

 

Wednesday, December 14, 2022


Psalms 108; 109:20-30

Isaiah 14:3-23

Mark 10:1-16


Observances: Third Wednesday in Advent; John of the Cross, mystic and teacher (d. 1591)


And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.


What a series of contrasts we have been shown over the past few days in regards to faith. Jesus’ statement, standing on the water, to be not just not afraid, but bold and courageous, for He is God; His teaching on the kingdom as beginning from just a little seed and growing into the biggest of trees; of a faith that, gotten through prayer, can defeat all the forces of darkness. Now He is asking us to have the faith of little children. Little children who, by the way, are taken up in His arms and blessed.


His instruction about the faith of a child is directly related to the teaching on divorce. Not as regards the specifics of marriage, however. Instead, we see He is as much concerned about the what as He is the how. How do we understand His teaching? How do we reach our conclusions about what Christianity is about in any given area of life?


Jesus asks the Pharisees what Moses commanded them. The Pharisees answered with specific instructions. Jesus responds not by contradicting Moses, but by challenging them to think with a biblical mindset. Jesus would have us do the same in our time, with our own questions about marriage that we are facing in society today.


Our answer is not to be found in a thou shalt/thou shalt not “gotcha” passage. The Bible rarely works like this, anyway. It knows that each generation will face a slightly different question. But the answer stays the same, so the Bible instead asks us to adopt the world view of the Holy Spirit who inspired its writers. We do this by having the faith of little children.


In the beginning, quotes Jesus, God made them male and female. Our answers are to be found not by dogmatically obeying a list of rules, but by looking at the world the way God does. God made us to be families, to be dedicated to each other, to loving one another completely, without concern for ourselves but with absolute concern for each other. And twice, once in the Garden, and again after the Flood, God tells us to go and start families and make babies; to “be fruitful and multiply”.


This is simple faith. It is not the faith of the institution, the faith of higher learning and tertiary study. It is the faith of little children, of trust in the fact that God loves us and wants us to be happy, and that in the scriptures He has given us a never-ending supply of spiritual fuel to grow that faith into the biggest tree. It is to those with this simple faith that the Lord Jesus gathers in His arms, gives a big, loving hug, and blesses.





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