April 4
Judges 11:29-15:20
This might disturb some, but special is defined as "better, greater, or otherwise different from what is usual". While ordinary is defined as "with no special feature or distinctive features; normal, what is commonplace or standard". I was raised in Brooklyn in the 1960-70's. I know that my parents loved me, but they accurately never led me to believe that I was special or out of the ordinary. I was loved and special to them, but I was just an average kid growing up in an average neighborhood. I did well in athletics, but was never led to believe that I would play professional baseball, just because I was selected to the All-Star team. I was captain of my High School swimming team, but was never led to believe that I would be in the Olympics. I did well in school but was never led to believe that I was going to one day be President, or find the cure for cancer. If I looked in the mirror a second too long, my mother would say, "Get out of the mirror, who is looking at you anyway". According to today's standards some would think that what they did was wrong. But I'm sorry, what they did was correct. They grounded me. They didn't puff me up to be something that I wasn't. It was also this grounding, this realization, which eventually led to my being in a position to see that which is truly special. Pride is probably the biggest stumbling block to accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. If you are "all that" then you are not searching for the only One who is truly "all that". If you deem yourself "special" then you might wrongly believe that you somehow deserve to be in the same club as Jesus. It is only seeing ourselves as ordinary, and unworthy that we can ascribe worth, and worship the only One who is actually special, God Himself. If you want to be special, accept Him, and it is in Him, and Him alone, that you will be special.
It is easy to read through scenarios in Scripture without pausing for a moment and considering what must have taken place in their minds. We read in Judges 13:2-5, "Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”" Wow! These new parents have just been told that they will really have a child who is going to be special. Notice the humility in the next request by the parents in 13:8, "Then Manoah prayed to the Lord, and said, “O my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born.” This should be the prayer of all parents. This couple is not alone. Abraham and Sarah were told of their son, Isaac, who would be special, and given to them in their old age. Zacharias and Elizabeth were told of their son and his special ministry before John the Baptist was born. And we certainly should never minimize the tremendous responsibility placed on Joseph and Mary, as they were each told that they were to raise the Savior of the world.
We have mistakenly elevated those things which should not be. Many of us have been blessed with children. We guide them and direct their steps and this responsibility is a very serious thing. But even if your child made it into the NFL, so have many other children. This does not make him special. If your child makes it in show business, so have many others. If your child becomes the head of a Fortune 500 company or even the leader of a nation, this does not make them special. If we want to bless our children, it is not to guide them on some lofty path that might one day culminate in their own glory. We should ground them. We are to introduce them to the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. We are to lead them to realize that Heaven is nothing that is earned or achieved. It is only in a humbled state that they can see themselves for who they truly are and who Jesus truly is. What makes one special is not being my kid or your kid. It is not in carrying on the family name. What makes one special is becoming God's child. We can not make or force our children to do this, as this is a matter of personal choice. It comes down to a decision on their part. But this should be the focus of our upbringing.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: