Saturday, February 13, 2010

Faith Like a Child (Relayed by Mom and Dad)

We were in a serious drought. The kind of drought that only people who live west of the Mississippi River can relate to: no rain for months at a time, the ground a dry Martian landscape of cracks that puffed up in fine powder with every footfall. As my sister listened to a news report on the drought, water restrictions, and the danger to crops, she asked a simple question: "Mommy, why don't they just pray for rain?" My Mom told her what a wonderful idea that was and suggested she try it. "Okay, Mommy." My sister skipped off to bed. The next morning, as we headed for the door, my Mom noticed my sister carrying an umbrella. "Why are you taking the umbrella, Sweetheart? It's sunny outside!"

"It's going to rain, Mommy" replied my sister, "I prayed for rain last night." And with that, she hopped out the door, umbrella in hand.

"Lord, please don't let my daughter be disappointed," my Mom prayed throughout the day, "she's so young to have her faith tested."

By the time school was over, our city was awash in a downpour.

Would it have rained, anyway? Possibly, but rain was not in the forecast. Would God send rain, just to strengthen the faith of a first-grader? I have no doubt, that He would, if it suited His purpose. I believe there are a few simple principles here, as illustrated in scripture:

...You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (James 4:2b-3)

The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour. (Matthew 8:8-13)

Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?" they asked. "Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor." And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
(Matthew 13:54-58)

When we ask God for something, we should examine our motivations, as James advises us to do. Are we asking for something so we can feed our own worldly desires? If so, we shouldn't be surprised if we don't receive it: God is under no obligation to answer sinful or selfish requests, no matter how much faith we have (and no matter what some popular televangelists may say to the contrary).

Does what we are asking suit God's purposes, or our own? As we become more and more molded to Christ's image we will find that those two often overlap. At a glance, the Centurion's request to heal his servant may have seemed selfish, but it suited Jesus' purpose in illustrating that He had come to seek and save the lost of all nations, not just of Israel. Judging by the Centurion's humility, he had also been listening to the teachings of Christ and His followers, and we can guess that his motivation was prompted by care for those under his authority, rather than simple monetary loss.

Finally, do we believe God can and will do what we ask? In Matthew 13, Christ makes it clear that, if we want God to do the impossible, faith is an absolute prerequisite. When we pray for rain, do we get out the umbrella?

1 comment:

  1. As I read this, the faith of my mother jumps out at me. How many times as parents do we have enough faith to let our children walk out the door, into the sunshine, with an umbrella in hand? What if she had panicked instead of trusting God with her child's faith? "Honey, it isn't going to rain! Go put the umbrella away." Or "Sweetie, maybe God doesn't want it to rain right now."
    There are so many ways she could have let doubt take over and attempted to "protect" me from disappointment (or the pain of other children laughing at me, or the possibility that my faith would have been shattered because there was not a cloud in the sky and it definitely was NOT going to rain.) But I remember her smiling and saying "okay". She never let on that she had doubts about it raining. Instead, she stepped out of the way, prayed, and trusted the Lord. Her example has helped me so many times as I raise my children. Each time I find myself worrying about one of my children I pray, and a part of that prayer is always "Lord, I know that you love my child more than I do. Please help me to leave this in your hands!" So far He has not disappointed me. :)

    ReplyDelete