Beggars Can Be Choosers (Feb 10)

Recently, my family and I went out to a restaurant for my birthday. The mother, father, and teenage daughter across the aisle received their meals, but the latter complained that hers was cold—no, this is not the updated version of Goldilocks! When the waitress returned, she was told that none of their meals were satisfactory, and all the plates were taken back to the kitchen. We heard them scheming about it, but little did we know how far they would go with it!

When their meals were returned to them, they sat there poking at them and mumbling. The waitress was called back to remove all of the meals again! She stacked the plates on top of each other and carted them off. The manager was called in—he apologized profusely, insisting they all order new meals—on the house! Were they just a very hard family to please with a complaining spirit, or was the whole thing a scam? I think it was both! In any case, their lack of love and honesty were evidenced in all the lying and cheating. Afterward, I thought I should probably have told the manager, but the way our sinful society is to day, I think he already knew—I'm sure it was not the first time, and certainly won't be the last. Oh, by the way, before we left the restaurant, I overheard the mother whisper to the dad, “Don't leave a tip!” Ironically, at the very same time, 2 million were homeless in Haiti, and 200,000 was the updated projected death toll. In Matthew 24, Jesus warned that when earthquakes became more frequent and severe, His return would be right around the corner. It was once reported that 7.2 and greater quakes occurred only once per decade before 1900. From 1900 to 1949, there were 3 every decade; 9 in the 1950's; 13 in the 1960's; 56 in the 70's; and 74 in the 80's. I never heard the results of the 1990's, but at the same rate, it would have been about 125. I'm sure this recent one will not be the last. Looting and anger abounded in Haiti, but there were exceptions. Several Christians, having lost their homes, as well as their loved ones, were out in the street—not griping and complaining—but waving their Bibles and praising God. Why? Because they knew that God was in control. They knew that it was sin that brought selfishness and death into this world—not God! They knew that God did send His own Son to suffer and die on the Cross of Calvary to take away our sin! Their only focus was Jesus! It is now reported that a Christian man, working in Haiti for Compassion, Intl., was rescued after 65 hours under 6 floors of his hotel. Thinking he might die, he scrawled a blood-stained note to his two young sons, encouraging them not to hate God.

You see, we all have choices. I can't imagine living like that family in the restaurant—complaining about everything; bugged at everybody; angry with every circumstance, and totally self-consumed. I pray that being faced with the hardship of a Haiti or worse, the grace of God would direct my choices of feelings and reactions. Towards the end of Moses' dealings with the rebellious house of Israel, he said, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.” (Deut. 30:19) Years later, Joshua would tell them a similar thing--”Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14,15) We can learn much of these things from Jesus Himself. In His Sermon on the Mount, near the beginning of His ministry, Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matt. 5:3) That is, those who are not all full of themselves, prideful, and self-consumed, have already inherited the rule of God in their lives. This, “poor,” in the original Greek, refers to a beggar crouching in obvious need. We, too, are in obvious need of God's rule in our hearts and lives. There is a saying today, “Beggars can't be choosers.” But I totally disagree—beggars can be choosers, and, in fact, must be. We saw this evidenced in Haiti. We have choices in this life, and we must begin early on to make the right ones—just as Jesus did. In the first twelve years of His boyhood, we are told, “...the Child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon Him.” (Luke 2:40) When He turned twelve—the official age of manhood and responsibility in Judaism—He was called, “a son of the law.” He made very clear the direction He had chosen when He said He would be about His “Father's business,” (Luke 2:49)—not His “step-father” Joseph, but His Heavenly Father, God Almighty. It is interesting to note that the word “business” is not even in the Greek, so it could be translated that He would be about His Father—not just focused on His service to God, but on God Himself—a deep, personal, and intimate relationship.

It is actually during the next 18 years, when He is a teenager and a young adult, that we come into an even clearer picture of the choices before Him. Following His trip to the temple at age 12, we are told—”And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but His mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:51,52) What a remarkable statement—He was SUBJECT to His parents. In the Greek, it refers to an habitual, continuous obedience to a God-given authority. Bengal, the renowned commentator once wrote about this—”Even before, He had been subject unto them; but this is mentioned now, when it might seem that He could, by this time, have exempted Himself. Instead, Jesus leaves all young people a shining example to follow.” Obviously, many today have chosen a different path. Herbert Lockyer put it this way—”In these modern permissive times, when it is felt that children should be given free, unrestricted expression, many of them cease to be subject to their parents, feeling that their parents should be subject unto their self-chosen ways of freedom.” Praise God—Jesus chose the far better path, and we can, too! That subjection made possible many increases in His life. First, we are told He increased in wisdom. In the earliest part of His childhood, Scripture said He was filled with wisdom. But now, we can picture an ever-expanding mind, engrossed with the Hebrew Scriptures and steeped in all of the prophecies that concerned Him. He pondered the psalms and the prophets, becoming evermore convinced of His purpose—the salvation of the world. His was an undying thirst for the wisdom and the ways of God, which He would come to personify. Subjection to the Lord will do that! Secondly, we are told that He increased in stature. Many think that this refers to His age or His size, and that it does. If He was like all the other Jewish boys of that day, Jesus attended the synagogue school until He was 15 years old. At this time, He joined His earthly father in the carpenter shop, and I'm sure that nothing shoddy ever left His hands. I'm sure His fine oxen yokes and plows sparked His teachings about taking His yoke upon us, and not looking back in the field of life while plowing. But its not just about age or height; it's about an ever-increasing maturity. What a call to us to not stay back in a baby, toddler, or even teenage Christianity, when God promises so much more through His sanctification. Yes, the toil of divinity truly revealed the divinity of toil. The choice is ours, as well!

Thirdly, He increased in favor with God and man. This is not to suggest He ever lacked such favor or grace, for even in His earlier years we find that the grace of God was upon Him. The gentleness and grace of His character endeared Him to all who knew Him. His honesty and goodness must have attracted many to the doors of His carpenter shop. Surely people liked to be near Him, to see His smile, to hear His voice, and to watch His ways. Hebrews 13:9 says, “...it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace.” Increasing in grace and graciousness became His because of His humility. The same choices are before us, due to the grace of God, which is the power of God to live for God. But wait a minute—if He was so well liked, what happened to bring people to the point where they wanted Him dead—even in His own hometown? Could it have been the gospel? When He began His ministry, it was with these words—”The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” (Mark 1:15) Yes, the call is to repent, hate sin, and turn to God! And won't the indwelling Christ be about the same call in us? Paul once wrote, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 2:5) It's a choice—a crucial one—see your need to leave the complaining spirit behind and let Jesus be in total control! Beggars CAN be choosers—choose to deny self and submit to Jesus!