Here we are, almost a third of the way through our reading of the New Testament. Day 12 or as I like to say, “12 days of reading the word of God, one for every tribe of Israel minus the half tribes…” It has been good, though, and I am sure that if you have taken up the challenge, that you are being blessed just like I am.
Today we finished the book of 1 Corinthians. The reading jumped off the page for me and I hope it did the same for you.
Here is what I got from the reading today.
What was it like to be a kid? When I think back to that time in my life, I am struck by a couple of things. The first is an overshadowing sense of time dragging on and on. There seemed to be no arrival of things for which I was waiting. A day felt like a week, a week like a month, a month like a year. A year? Eternity! Time did not move at all. I remember thinking in the mid-sixties, as a kid of 11 or 12, that in 2000 I was going to be 46 years old. I thought, “Man, will I be a old guy like grandpa then!” Here I am some years after the fact and I still recognize my age, but it doesn’t feel so old from here!
Another thought is that back then my parents and teachers were like God. What I mean by this is that when they spoke, it better have been done or else. Or else the belt (at home)! Or else the paddle (at school)! We don’t do this any more. Corporal punishment at school and at home is frowned upon. It isn’t PC. It’s not loving. It’s not nurturing…I am going to get in trouble for this, but here is a theological word that I have for this…BULL! Without the teaching of proper boundaries at home and at school, I never would have understood the boundaries that life would foist upon me and everyone else when we arrived at adulthood. We just cannot do whatever we want, no matter what anyone may tell you. The teaching of my parents and my teachers gave me a picture of the world to come and how to negotiate it for the corporate good and my personal good.
This teaching allows me to keep a wife in good standing. It allows me to maintain a job, invest in volunteer endeavors and keep positive relationships with others. The little snot nosed Johnny Prim did not grow up to be a thug either at home, in my relationships or in my job, because someone let me know what were the real boundaries of decorum. If we are honest, we know that the world will let us know what is too far! There are limits to everything.
The third thought I had is simply this, “I was very selfish as a kid.” When I think back to that time, all I can remember is me. I don’t see very many others in the camera viewfinder. I went here and I went there and I did this and I did that. There is a whole lot of “I” in all my remembrances of that time. Isn’t that what kids are like? Much of their concerns and cares are about them. Part of that growing experience is about moving from the “me” to the “other.” We know this because selflessness is such a huge commodity in our world. Yesterday we celebrated the selflessness of not only Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but also all those who were willing to be selfless in desiring to change our culture within the boundaries of reason.
That’s why, when Paul says in our reading today, “Stop thinking like children,” we are confronted with the truth that to think like children is to act impatient, seeking to blur clear boundaries given by God and “find ourselves,” and only ourselves, to the glory of ourselves.
We impatiently say, “When is Jesus going to come for me?” We distrust at every level and hurl the boundary breaking theme for our lives at every whiff of dominion over us when we say, “Question authority.” We push all our experience through the filter of feeling and if it doesn’t feel good, we wont do it. As Paul says, we need to “stop thinking like children” and start thinking like people who have been changed by Jesus.
“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”
I hope the Lord finds us actively yet patiently waiting for Him, focused on exercising His wonderful grace in the context of serving others!
I pray you are finding great worth in reading with me and my church. Blessings!
As with your other blogs, very thought-provoking and excellent. Thank you!