Thought for Today
Proverbs 29:3 A child who loves wisdom makes a parent glad,
Malichi 4:5 Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents
Luke 2:27 Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law,
Luke 2:41 Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover.
We just finished our weekly coffee klatch with our son. I mentioned previously that during the pandemic we began regular, weekly morning coffee sessions. Usually, we meet on Wednesday, but because of work related travel, this week we met on Tuesday.
Both of our children have children entering college this fall, so both are anticipating being ‘empty-nesters.’ Greta and I vividly remember when our own children left to go off to college. Suddenly, our home became eerily silent, full of empty spaces that once entertained the vibrant exuberance of children. Our lives, which for 20+ years had been oriented toward raising and caring for children now seemed cut adrift. The countless hours consumed by all of the parental duties and activities devoted to their instruction, care and guidance were now without specific purpose.
We faced that ultimate, horrific dilemma, ‘how will they possibly get by without our constant supervision and guidance?’ Now, Greta and I see life’s cycle making another rotation; now they are faced with the same quandary. The same question abounds, ‘how will they possibly get by without our constant supervision and guidance?’ Additionally, they are realizing that their own lives have been upended and are now full of empty spaces and ‘available’ hours.
The parent/child relationship is one of the most frequent analogies we encounter in the Bible for our own relationship with our Creator God. We also have some scant examples offered in scripture of the parent/child relationships of the important characters we encounter in scripture. We have a few glimpses of Moses’ mother and even his sister, of his surrogate mother, the daughter of Pharoah. We read some passages mentioning Jesse, David’s father. There are tantalizing stories about Joseph and Mary. We know of their faithfulness, their attention to their parental duties and obligations. One of my favorite stories is in Luke’s story about Jesus being left behind in Jerusalem, especially Jesus’ answer to Mary, "2:49 Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"
Those of us who have been through the ‘empty nest’ syndrome all know that Mary’s mind was filled with ‘how will he possibly get by without our constant supervision and guidance?’ She still had children at home; she and Joseph still had responsibilities and duties for all of Jesus’ brothers and sisters. But, Jesus was their oldest child, their first born. They worried, just as so many of us have worried.
Even for the most devout parents of faith, it is easy to fret and worry, to search metaphorically and literally for our children. It is easy to forget that God never leaves any of God’s children alone, without parental supervision and guidance. God is always right there alongside each of God’s children. That is what omnipresent means, always right there. In every situation, in every crisis, in every event, God is right there with them, right there with us.
The truth of John 3:16 is that Jesus is God’s answer to that question about how God’s children might possibly get by without God’s constant supervision and guidance. Instead of trying to get by without it, Jesus has shown us the way. Jesus’ Incarnation, ministry, Crucifixion and Resurrection are a living example of how we will get by with God’s constant supervision and guidance.
Jesus promised, “John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.” That Advocate, the Holy Spirit, is with us always. That is what Jesus meant in the Great Commission when he promised, “Matthew 28:20 And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." With us and with our children whom we send out into the world.
Stay safe, remember the promise, trust God,
Pastor Ray