Perfect Parent

The heavens and our hearts were made to worship God. 

“Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet…They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my Lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!” Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float…the king of Aram was at war with Israel…Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him…When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my Lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.“ 2 Kings‬

There are times when you read the stories in the Scriptures and you do a double take to understand what you just read. This is one of those passages.  Axe heads are made of metal and sink when in water, yet Elisha prays and the axe head floats. Then a massive army surrounds Elisha’s tent. Any rational person would be terrified, but Elisha prays that his servant could see with spiritual eyes. When his eyes are opened, he sees an unbeatable army on their side. 

We have a choice to make. We can simply move on and continue to see the world as we’ve always seen it, or we can open our eyes and see that God is greater than we ever imagined. The very God who designed and ordered the Earth, has the ability to defy the laws of nature. If He made the laws, He can break them.  

So often we are like the careless tree cutter or Elisha’s servant. We give up hope so easily and are scared so quickly.  We do not realize what it means to be the people of God nor do we understand the power of God. Is it possible that we always have an army of angels available to guard us? Is it that the God who made all things can do the miraculous? How do you need to change the way you look at your life, at what you face, at who God is? 

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun…The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward. But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalms‬ 19

All the evidence you ever need to see that God is Almighty, all powerful, and worthy of all praise, can be seen by looking at creation. Have you not experienced this? Picture a time where you are overwhelmed by the awe and wonder of the beauty around you. It could be a starry night or a perfect sunset or basking in the sun. God wants us to see. 

Beyond the Earth that He created with a word, the inspired word of God tells us of the wisdom and wonder of our Heavenly Father. The Bible contains everything necessary for your salvation. Our hope and help is not found on the Internet nor ChatGPT. It is found in Jesus. It is revealed when we fear the Lord, gain eyes to see and ears to hear, and a heart to receive the instruction from His word. 

Would you like more wisdom, joy, peace, hope, and power? How much time will you spend today reading the Bible? How much time will you spend in nature? How much time do we spend scrolling on your phone or watching TV or distracted by things that are not drawing you closer to God? 

David prays a very simple prayer in closing this song. He said God let my every thought, every word, every intention, and every action be pleasing to you. David set a pretty high bar for how he evaluated his life. His desire was holiness and oneness with God. Like David, we know we are not perfect, but we can live to please God. Will pleasing God be your prayer today? 

“A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, but a mocker does not respond to rebukes. From the fruit of their lips people enjoy good things…Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin. A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied. The righteous hate what is false…The light of the righteous shines brightly…Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death. Whoever disregards discipline comes to poverty and shame…Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm. A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children…Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.” Proverbs‬

Jesus used the term Abba, or Father, when speaking about God. Not only is God the Creator of all that we see, but the one whose very hand made each of us. He is God most high and God most nigh, or near in modern terms. As we expand our view of God, it is helpful to understand He is working to grow and guide us because He loves us as Father. 

Being a parent is hard. You have this unique tension between how special your child is in your eyes and how to help them become the person they were made by God to be. The process of helping them grow is painful because not one person is perfect. One of the ways that God shapes us is through the wisdom of His Word. When we read Proverbs, we would be wise to invite His instruction and receive His correction. 

What is some advice that He has for us? He said watch your mouth.  Speak the truth. Work hard and find meaning in your work.  He said pride poisons relationships.  He said who you walk with matters and whether you will listen with an ear to learn how to grow makes a difference. He is a God who disciplines and expects us to understand that it is for our benefit. 

How do you need to grow today? What wisdom could guard your heart and guide your steps? Will you delight in the discipline of God? Many parents in our modern world just want to be friends with their kids and despise discipline not knowing that they are a willing party to their death. All grace and no truth leads to terrible pain sooner or later. God loves us too much to let us walk off a cliff without calling out what is ahead. 

“This is what the Lord says: “ ‘I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness, through a land not sown. Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest…What fault did your ancestors find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves…my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols. Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me…They say to wood, ‘You are my father,’ and to stone, ‘You gave me birth….yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!” Jeremiah‬

God spoke through Jeremiah and said you have chosen to forget and forsake me. He said you follow worthless idols and are unfaithful to Me. He said you worship man-made things like money or material objects rather than Me, the Maker. He said you were only turn to Me when you are in trouble.  

Is this not relevant for us today? If you actually charted out how you spend your minutes, all the meditations of your heart, and what’s on your mind, how much time do you spend focusing on God? How much time do you think about how faithful He has been to you and when you first felt His love? 

We live in a fast-paced world, inundated with information, and daily distracted by our devices and desires. Think back to Psalm 19.  The heavens declare the glory of God. There is a reason we were made to spend time outside so that we would not forget the awe or the laws of God.  

God said consider how bad it is for you when you lose the awe of Me. He is saying that you are cutting off your nose to spite your face when you forsake Me. God is not scolding us, He is trying to help save us from ourselves.

What is one step that you could take today to draw closer to God today? Could you spend more time outside, spend more time contemplating His word, spend more time singing praises, spend more time praying, spend more time serving others, spend more time sharing your salvation story or seeing beyond earthly attractions? 

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money…You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight…There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table…the time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’” Luke‬

We would do well to ask God for eyes to see and expand our awe of God is. He is the God who hung the stars in the heavens and whose Son hung on the cross. He commands armies of angels and teaches us the command to love one another. He is the Father who is patient in how He teaches when we go astray, yet He is continually there to correct our course. 

Jesus reminds us that we cannot serve two masters because He knows our hearts. Money and countless creature comforts compete for space in our hearts but they can never satisfy the soul. They are all temporary and do not help our eternal journey. They lie to us. They can never love us, forgive us, guide us, or save us. 

God alone is worthy of our attention and our worship. He is worthy of our devotion. Ask yourself what are you thinking about most today?  What fills your mind when it is quiet? What makes you anxious? What do you desire most? The answers to those questions reveal what we worship and why we do what we do. Jesus invites us to lift our eyes from earthly things and fix them on the eternal. How we live today matters in light of eternity. Jesus may have been speaking in a parable, but the wisdom he shared is a clear warning of what is to come for those who are unfaithful. Will we heed the warning?

The heavens declare the glory of God and so should you. Lift up your eyes and lift up praise. Walk outside and stand in awe. Open His Word and receive His wisdom. Welcome His correction and change course from our current culture. Trust His heart and speak truth. Worship the Maker instead of what He has made, and you will discover that the God who formed the heavens is faithfully forming you into the person He created you to be.