Years ago, we were giving a large party in our home in Scotland. My wife had put a great deal of effort into preparation, wanting the party to be a big success (which it was). Halfway through the evening, our youngest son, at that time aged three or four, crept out of his bedroom to sit at the top of the stairs and watch. When my wife noticed him, she sent him back to bed. About twenty minutes later, I heard his door creak open, and he went to sit above the stairs again. Knowing that he would be swiftly sent packing once he was noticed, and trying to let him down gently, I went and sat beside him without speaking, putting my arm around him. Shortly afterwards, I whispered that he might like to return to his bed, which he did without resistance. After tucking him into bed, I rejoined the party and thought no more about the incident.

Many years later as an adult, our son told us that he always remembers that moment as one of love-filled comfort and security! Thank You, Jesus! Our son is now the doting, loving father of a beautiful six-year-old girl!

So often in our Christian walk, as we seek ways to serve our Lord, we tend to dismiss as uneventful, or even trivial, what in our eyes we see as too ordinary or unspectacular to be of much use to others or to ourselves in our journey. Rather, we frequently want to be involved in events that we consider would be sufficiently noteworthy to get God’s attention and meet with His approval, forgetting that it’s Father’s will, not ours, to be done through our loving obedience.

1 Samuel 16:7b – The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. (NIV)

Most of the time, we fail to realize just how our treatment of children and our behaviour around them can make a lasting impact on their lives, which will shape the adults they become. We must always recognize and act upon this awesome, God-given responsibility.

We often overlook the fact that Jesus loved the little children, and emphasized just how important they are in God’s kingdom, as our son demonstrated through the party event.

Matthew 19:13-14 – Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (NIV)

It’s only as we begin to seek to see through the eyes of Jesus that we realize that a lifestyle of showing His selfless, spontaneous love in our everyday walk to the young, the needy, and all others Father brings across our path, is in the perfect will of God! Any other plans for us, He’ll be sure to let us know!

James 1:27 – Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (NIV)

Prayer: We thank You, Father, for the many blessings You continually bestow upon us, for all our loved ones, and for Your perfect direction in every situation. Most of all, we thank You for Jesus! Please keep us firmly entrenched in Your love, as we surrender to Your perfect will. Amen and Amen.

Allan Mackellar
Picton, Ontario, Canada

Thanks to Daily Presbytarian