I Have No Greater Joy

One’s children are an incredible blessing from God. As difficult as raising them may be, or as expensive, or complex, we love those times. They are a source of great joy as we see them learn, do, and struggle as they move toward becoming complete people in the world. We can likely remember their first steps and the coming months when they improve so rapidly. This excelling and mastering of different aspects of life is a source of great pride for us. We love to see them excel in athletics, academics, art, or a host of other things. In the midst of all this growth of the child and the encouragement of the parents one phrase reverberates: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). Are we teaching them to seek the kingdom above all else? Do we provide the training for them to excel in the things of the Lord? Do we put in the time and have them put in the time to become a good soldier of the Cross? What areas do we push them in to excel? Where will we allow them to be lax? Will the one who is being trained to seek first the Kingdom be allowed to skip Wednesday evening Bible Study in order to study for a test in anatomy or some other subject? Certainly, they would not. What about allowing them to do so for an athletic event? Hopefully we can easily see which activity would be more important. But parents do allow such things and it has come to be viewed by many as being completely acceptable. It seems that at the heart of this is a parent’s desire to have their children a success in earthly matters above heavenly matters. This would be denied if asked outright, but when their practice is observed it is seen to absolutely be the case. Maybe this is because the success in earthly endeavors gives us joy and pride. To that another phrase rings out: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” (III John 4). Get that. NO GREATER JOY. As a parent, there should be no doubt that what gives you the most joy in this existence is that those you are or have raised are “walking in the truth”. More important that any athletic achievement. More desired than any academic accomplishment. More exciting to you than great success in the world of business. It is their walk with God and His truth that gives us the greatest joy in the world. Certainly, if they were to be successful in everything, but walk without God, that would cause us the greatest sadness imaginable. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26) Just some things for parents to think about as we go about the task of raising children to be men and women of God. Remember that we have them but for a season, and for a purpose!

            “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.

     Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

  It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest,    

     eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

                Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.

     Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.

                Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!

     He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.”

-          Psalm 127:1–5

The Absolute Necessity of Forgiveness

Forgiveness. Easier said than done, right? That’s a common attitude to have when we feel that we’ve been wronged or someone, even a brother or sister in Christ, has said something that is hurtful to us. It is just so hard to actually forgive – we want our “pound of flesh” before reconciliation can be made. Many will come to a discussion like this one and focus on the offender, stating that they must apologize before true reconciliation can occur. I am not interested in discussing the response of the offender at the present time. They certainly need to make things right for their own soul (Matthew 5:23-24), and should be encouraged to do so. What I do want to discuss is the attitude that we must always strive to possess – an attitude of forgiveness. If we don’t have this, then it is altogether likely that we will not readily accept the advances of one who does try to make amends.

A forgiving attitude is much easier to develop when we begin to understand our own needs and remember them. The Christian understands that he has escaped a terrible end through the grace that God the Father extends to us in the form of His Son, Jesus (Romans 6:23). He is also quick to forgive when we rebel or fail in our efforts to keep His righteousness (I John 1:9). When one comes to Jesus, there is no worry that He will hold a grudge over what you’ve done; there is simply an attitude that wants to forgive (Hebrews 8:12). That’s what we need. This attitude and its opposite are displayed in the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant that Jesus told to His disciples in Matthew 18:21-35. Look at the Parable:

          “Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

                                     

          First, I feel the need to explore the amount of debt that was forgiven the man in the parable – 10,000 talents. One talent was equal roughly to six-thousand denarii. One denarius was equal to about one day’s wages for the common person. When the math is all done, the man owed the King SIXTY MILLION DAYS WAGES. It simply represents an insurmountable debt since the average life would be only about 24,000 days. This man couldn’t repay this debt if he were to live 2,500 lifetimes! This represents our debt of sin before God. It is a debt far too large for us to pay. But God has an attitude of forgiveness toward us and is ready and willing to forgive to the point that He paid our debt with the sacrifice of His very own Son.

We must always remember the debt that was paid on our behalf if we are to have an attitude of forgiveness. The man in the Parable had no such attitude. Although forgiven of an astounding debt, he demands payment of a small amount that would be equal to about three months’ wages. Do we stand in the place of this man at times? Certainly, we do as we hold grudges or have extended periods of anger against a brother or sister in Christ. How does that look to God? I think the remainder of the Parable lets us know how God sees it. We should have mercy on those who wrong us, because God has gone to great lengths to forgive us our trespasses. Having the wrong attitude in this area will have disastrous consequences. In the Parable, the King delivered the man to jail until he repaid ALL his debt. This, my brethren, is something that we need to avoid at all costs.