Parental Dependence
CHILDREN'S LESSON:
In my back yard are some very small trees. When they were first planted they needed lots of care. They had to be watered and fertilized. They were not strong enough to even stand on their own. Sometimes the wind blows very hard so they need a stake in the ground to support them.
Boys and girls, that's why God has given you a Mom and Dad that want you to grow up in the Lord Jesus Christ. Just like your parents held your hand when you were learning to walk, you still need their support to grow spiritually. Your parents help you know right from wrong. Your parents may even make you do chores, homework and perhaps even Scripture memory. All of these things are like that stake in the ground; they help you grow up to be a strong follower of Jesus.
"Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it" (Proverbs 22:6).
Ascend the Mountain with Jesus
Denver, Colorado is 5,276 feet above sea level, hence the nickname “Mile High City.”
The altitude there has been credited and blamed for the effects it has on unaware or unprepared visitors from lower elevations. People feel the effects of lower air pressure and decreased oxygen when they arrive; the same goes for visiting athletes.
Sure, they’re better conditioned than Joe or Jane Average, but they’re drawing more on the thin air in their competitive exertions. Many, if they’re honest, have stories to tell about needing rather quickly to find their second wind and taking a few days to acclimate enough that their performances don’t suffer.
Such teams as the Nuggets, Avalanche, Broncos, and Rockies actually employ marketing schemes to plant seeds doubt in visiting teams, amplifying the disadvantages posed to those athletes who are not properly altitude trained. For example, at Ball Arena, there is signage where visiting teams enter and exit noting the city’s altitude. The numbers 5,280 are printed right on the court, near each free-throw line. The video board during introductions welcomes the road team with an ominous warning about the difficulty in catching one’s breath. Then, there are large, hazard-orange-and-black placards on display (“Attention: Altitude Warning/Low Oxygen”).
In fact, the intimidating marketing is right there in the name ... "Empower Field" at "Mile High Stadium"!
In response, we often see oxygen tanks used on the visiting teams’ sidelines to help them try to catch their breath.
There is a whole school of athletic training based on high-altitude workouts. Olympic athletes routinely seek out facilities in Denver and Colorado Springs to boost their oxygen efficiency, and countless trainers and gyms simulate the effects with dedicated breathing equipment.
In Matthew 5, we see the Lord ascend up the mountainside to preach his most famous, and frankly, one of his most challenging sermons — aptly named the Sermon on the Mount. He wasn't bringing a milquetoast message of "peace, love, and hippy beads." No, he was bringing a challenging message of radical transformation which was not for the faint of heart and would require spiritual training and preparedness.
The disciples went up the mountain with Jesus. To go up the mountain is to risk one’s balance: our ears might pop; we might get dizzy; we might trip. We might hear something we cannot handle. Making the climb is the first step, and it is already a commitment. Staying on the summit and realizing we could do even more requires more courage, and letting that experience transform us, transfigure us, can be scarier still. But the effort is worthwhile. The vista is gorgeous.
To receive this kind of message we must spiritually train to make the best use of the "air" up there — Jesus' words of truth and life. Afterall, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV).
Seeing Clearly
It is estimated that there are approximately 10 million people in the U.S. and upwards of 36 million people worldwide who are actually blind, i.e., totally unsighted and living in darkness.
In addition to those with complete blindness, the WHO estimates:
- Globally, at least 2.2 billion people have a near or distance vision impairment. In at least 1 billion of these, vision impairment could have been prevented or is yet to be addressed.
- The leading causes of vision impairment and blindness at a global level are refractive errors and cataracts [a cloudiness which grows over the lens of the eye].
- It is estimated that globally only 36% of people ... have received access to an appropriate intervention.
While millions live in complete spiritual darkness, and millions (nay billions!) more live with some measure of blindness, it is safe to say, biblically speaking, that ALL men walk in spiritual blindness, absent the "Light" of Jesus and His restorative, regenerative, and salvific work on their behalf.
“And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.” - Mark 8:23-25 ESV
God calls us to bring Jesus' Light to those who live in darkness, and to not just bring His Light and truth, but to disciple them into clarity of a mature and fruitfal walk with the Savior.
It’s one miracle to go from blindness to sight. It’s another to go from seeing to seeing clearly. We need Jesus to help us see things clearly.
"... the people living in darkness have seen a great light ..." - Matthew 4:16, NIV