Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

• Luke 18:15-17

At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

• Matthew 11:25

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

• Matthew 5:44-45

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

• 1 John 3:1

After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”
“Yes, he does,” he replied.
When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”
“From others,” Peter answered.
“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

• Matthew 17:24-27

Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves.

• Luke 17:1-3

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.

• James 3:1-2

He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

• Revelation 21:6-7

Boilerplate

I’m Harold Dykstra.  I’m retired, but I go to food bank distributions all over Tracy and talk to people that need someone who will listen to their story.  My time is well spent.  A police lieutenant suggested that I write down the conversations that I had with an angel.  I did not know she was an angel at the time.  The angel, for a little over a year, indwelled a life-sized posable action figure my children bought me, so that I would not be perceived as travelling alone.  And in a way, she was training me for what I do while talking to the needy.  She probed my heart to find out what I believed and how I express love for others.  She changed my life.

In her leaving, she said someone would come.  I had thought that was Jesus, in His second coming, but a new Babs, a little older, the model for the posable action figure arrived.  While I had no desire to start over with romance, Morrie helped her move in, thinking she was the other Babs who had returned.

This Week’s Question

Last week, Babs got her first case of wanderlust.  I say “first” in that she warned that the next time we might have to go further away than Stout County to a Christian bookstore.

But this week, Babs was singing children’s songs as she went around the house.

I asked, “Babs, are you reliving your childhood?”

Babs looked puzzled.  “What?!”

“You were singing children’s songs.  You have been doing that all day.  I was thinking that you were reliving your childhood.” I laughed.

She huffed, “I would have to have a childhood to relive it.  Remember, my mother died.  My father quickly realized he was in over his head bringing up a little girl.  So, since my father left me unattended while he visited strip clubs, he found a stripper who would not mind pretending to be a mother.  And she was worthless as a mother, but she was an excellent groomer of porn stars.  But was I singing out loud?”

I smiled and nodded.

Babs scrunched her nose. “Do you know Peggy at the church?  She runs the nursery.”

I snickered, “By reputation only.  Our grandchildren are grown or going to another church.  I have only smiled in her general direction.”

Babs smiled, “Well, you know I left Sunday school to go to the restroom, and I did not return.”

I moaned, “Yes, Babs, and I had to carry your big heavy Bible from the classroom into the sanctuary.  Do you keep lead pellets in the binding?  Your Bible weighs more than my Bible, both our study guides, and my Bible commentary put together.”

Babs leaned down and squeezed my arm.  Then she talked like she was talking to an infant.  “Oh, did the poor adult baby pull a muscle.  Let me rub it and kiss it.”

I allowed her to rub it and kiss it.  Then, I said, “It was the other arm, and you have not answered my question.”

While Babs moved around and rubbed and kissed my other arm.  Babs shrugged, “I don’t know what is in my Bible, but I think you are exaggerating, as usual.  When we were at the Christian bookstore last week, I went crazy with little magnet bookmarks and metallic bookmarks.  I slipped them into my Bible cover, and the Bible is not a leather bound like yours, it is hardback.  That might add a pound or two, but nothing like your suggested.”

I sighed, “Babs, when I was a young engineer, I could look at a pipe and tell you the size.  I could lift a box and tell you within half a pound how much it weighed.  These days, I can’t tell if what I have in my left hand weighs more than what I have in my right hand.  I am losing it, Babs.”

Babs gasped, “Am I going to have to find someone else to become romantic with?  If you fall apart, what will I do?”

I groaned, “I did not say that I was falling apart.  I am just losing some of the old skills I had when I first got out of school.  But you still have not explained anything relating to Peggy nor your reason for not coming back to the classroom.”

Babs giggled, “I came out of the restroom, and she looked at me with deep concern.  She asked if I could read a story to the older preschool children.  Their Sunday school teacher got sick, and the Christian Education Director (CED) redirected the children to the nursery.  I said that I would love to read a story.  The book that she chose was about God creating the heavens and the earth.  I read the story, and the children were all very attentive.  Peggy asked me if I had a few children, and I said I never had a child.  I told her about being Grand Babs to your grandchildren, but the only one that is close to the age of the preschoolers was Janelle.”

I smiled.  “So, you are reliving a successful book reading?”

Babs scrunched her nose.  “Harold!  No, I am rethinking my Sunday school hour.  The teacher is sicker than they thought.  Even if she survives, she would not be able to teach children who have that much energy.  And Peggy and the CED watched me, since I had no mothering experience.  The CED was laughing.  She said that I read the book like I was telling a story.  And I used sound effects.  And while one hand was holding the book, my other hand was waving around like I was magician about to pull a rabbit from my hat.  I thought nothing of it.  I was just reading the book the way I thought the author intended.  So, while I was thinking of children’s songs all day today, I was working up the nerve to mention my big news to that grumpy man that gets exhausted carrying two Bibles less than a hundred yards.”

I corrected, “Two Bibles, one commentary, and two Bible study books.  And of course, five pounds of miscellaneous bookmarks.  And you will be missed.  They may kick me out of the class.  I think half the men look at you more than they look at their wives.”

Babs gasped, “Oh, dear, Harold.  Maybe it is a good idea for me to be with the children.  None of them see me as being a sexy person, just a fun Mommie type person.”

I gave her a big hug.  I whispered, “Babs, I think you have found your calling.  And it is a far cry from what you used to do.”

Burying her head on my shoulder, Babs said, “I know.  And I feel God drawing me to that classroom.”

I shrugged, “So, it’s settled, but what do we do for a Bible study tonight?”

Babs giggled, “Now that I am a Sunday school teacher, I have already prepared one.”

“Okay, Babs.  But are you going to use sound effects and motion with your hands?  I am not a child.”  I laughed.

Babs pulled away and looked me in the eyes. “Nope, you are not a child.  I will not treat you like a child, although you sometimes act like one.  But the lesson is on children.”

We went to the dining room table and spread out our Bibles.

Babs said, “We can start with Luke 18:15-17.  The children are coming to Jesus.  Their parents want Jesus to bless their children.  The disciples tell them to go away.  I guess they think Jesus had better things to do, but Jesus begs for the children to approach because the kingdom of God is made up of such children.”

I nodded, “That’s a good place to start.  The same story is in Matthew 19 and Mark 10.  John does not use that illustration.”

Babs nodded eagerly.  Then she said, “Matthew 11:5 is a little cryptic.  The religious leaders and Pharisees could not see what Jesus was talking about, but Jesus said that the understanding was given to the little children.  Why is that?”

I smiled, “It’s why you related to those little children.  They understand what they feel, and they feel the love.  Notice children.  There is a certain amount of trust there.  They have their phase of stranger danger, but for the most part, they trust the people that show them love.”

Babs shrugged, “I thought you were going to go into the concept that their minds are less polluted by the world.  Their critical reasoning is much simpler than those who have more education.  It is basically black and white, with no gray area.”

I smiled, “That too.”

Babs snickered, “Okay, smarty pants.  How about where it says that we should love our enemies.  For us to be called children of God, we should love our enemies and pray for them.  Is that part of salvation?”

I shrugged, “Kind of a reaction to our salvation.  We accept Jesus and then we are given a variety of commandments that require God-in-us to accomplish.  First John kind of turns those things into tests of our faith.  Was your faith genuine?  Then these are the things that you may not have perfected, but you are showing evidence of it.  Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that if we do not forgive those who have harmed us, God in Heaven will not forgive us.  So, praying for our enemies is a form of forgiving that enemy.  That does not save you, but it shows that God is working within us.  Thus, in a backhanded kind of way, we cannot be considered children of God unless we pray for our enemies.  But to get to that point, we must forgive them.  We must have God working in our lives to recognize that they are enemies that we have once hated, or badly disliked.  And we cannot do any of that unless the Holy Spirit is within us, guiding us, and that comes at the point of salvation.  Now, see how it fits?  We are not saved by loving our enemies, but loving our enemies is a result of becoming more like Jesus, after we are saved.”

Babs smiled, “Okay, so then I have something from Matthew 17.  The religious leaders are trying to trick Jesus regarding the temple tax.  Jesus asks Peter a philosophical question, and Peter says that the children do not pay the tax, only their parents.  And then, Jesus says for Peter to go fishing and the fish will contain enough to pay the temple tax for both himself and Jesus, just to satisfy those watching.  But I think Jesus means that we no longer need to pay the temple tax because we are children of God.”

I nodded, “That is what Jesus was alluding to, but a few minor points apply.  We, as God’s children, are exempt from the temple tax, but we should give to the church.  The ten percent tithe is only a model to go by.  We should give in faith.  But to be taxed?  No, we are the king’s children.  All that is ours is His, and we should do as much for God’s glory as is possible, using what God has left in our care.  And some of that is to give to the church.  Does that make sense?”

Babs said, “Sort of.  We are not required to give, but I think you would wrap giving to the church in with loving our enemies as a test to show that God is at work within us.”

I shrugged, “Would I do that?”

Babs said, “You already have, Harold.  But then I have warnings against adults that harm children.  Luke 17 and James 3, the beginning of each chapter.  Luke 17 talks about leading a little one astray, and it would be better for that person to be thrown into the sea with a millstone around their necks.  Then in James 3, it says that teachers will be held to a higher standard.  I kind of read these two passages together.  Is that wrong?”

I smiled, “I think you are quite right.  Teachers can also teach adults or even preach, as some denominations consider the pastor as being the teaching elder.  But anyone spreading the Gospel must do so in the proper way.  Not technique.  Techniques vary, but in the basics of the Gospel.  God loves us.  We cannot attain a right relationship with God on our own.  We can do nothing.  We cannot buy our way into heaven, but Jesus paid the price for our sin.  Then, once we accept Jesus into our lives, He requires the entirety of our lives in return.  We may still go out into the workplace and work a job, but we do everything for God’s glory.  But if we misrepresent the Gospel as a teacher, preacher, or evangelist, remember that we are all called the children of God, so in harming one of God’s children, the result will not be a good result for those that harm God’s children.  So, one is talking about harming little ones.  The other is warning teachers.  But they can easily be lumped together.  Remember though that Jesus said the warning in Luke and His brother James said what is in James.”

Babs leaned forward, “But, Harold, they are both in the inspired Word of God.”  I winked and nodded.  Babs continued.  “And I thought I would end with Revelation 21:6-7 where God calls us the children of God.”

I added, “And what is written immediately after those verses is that those not in the Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire, experiencing the second death, but I like how you ended it where you did.  Our salvation is both saved to something and saved from something.  We avoid the lake of fire, but we get to go to Heaven, and we are required to spread the Gospel.  And you can do your part by teaching those little children that God loves them.  And the best way to do that is by your words and actions, in loving them.”

“Thanks, Harold,” Babs said and scrunched her nose.  “I will do my best, with God’s help.”

I shrugged, “How else can you do it without God’s help?”

I leaned over and gave her a kiss.  She was going to be a great Sunday school teacher.

Credits

All these conversations remind me of my conversations with my wife.  We would talk about anything and everything.  And most of the time, it sounded like a discussion in a Sunday school class.

My wife taught little children in churches in a variety of states in the USA.  She loved different ages for different reasons, from preschool to about the fourth grade.  She said they got a little mouthy at that point.  Preschool could not read, but they were usually the most eager.  First grade evolved over the year until they could read better.  Second and third grade were her favorite groups.  They could read.  They had their own ideas.  And they had not been spoiled by the fallen world too much.

And when my wife read a children’s story, she used sound effects and the inflection of her voice changed as the mood of the story changed. She was a master storyteller, and it was usually the first time she had ever read the book. As UN translators translate as you speak, she translated a sentence into a performance act as she read each sentence.

These last two weeks, wanderlust and teaching children were easy to write.  I just thought of her.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.