We
bought our son, Josiah, a police car power wheel for Christmas. The product inside the box did not look the
same as the product he had seen many times on the shelf. Why?
Well, some assembly was required of course. We began to put the car together and hit a
bump or two along the way as you are always prone to do. But, the real issue was in putting the
steering wheel on. Of course it wasn’t
in some trivial piece that if it didn’t go on right wouldn’t make a
difference. Nope. This was the steering wheel.
It consisted of a metal rod coming up through
the dash and the steering column fitting over the rod and then putting a screw
through 4 aligned holes. Simple
enough. Yet, when it was in place for
some odd reason it would not align and the screw would not go in. We tried and tried and tried. So, being a man of faith and power I did what
a good preacher would do. I prayed and
believed that God would unleash His angels to align that screw and it would be
taken care of. Yet, the screw still
would not go in.
Well, that set me
off. I was not a happy camper. I began to tell God how it was such a simple
request and how He had answered much bigger things for me and others. How on earth could I ever trust Him for
something big when He wouldn’t even answer something so small? I was getting offended because of Him. And, it wasn’t a light and momentary
thing. I got really frustrated.
I started talking about how He was letting me
down and I didn’t know if I could trust Him ever again. I went for a walk with my hood on and my head
down. I prayed simply, “GOD, DO NOT TALK
TO ME!” He didn’t, but what I heard was
me making two statements while preaching or teaching recently.
I heard myself say, “It is better to pray and believe and attempt something
for God and fail than to never attempt anything and succeed.” I told God that didn’t apply in something so
simple.
Then, I heard myself say, “God
is not going to jump through anyone’s hoops and do anything just because they
ask.” Then, I heard the still small voice of God say, "Not even for you, son."
Needless to say, I didn’t like
either of those statements. The worst
part was, I WAS THE ONE WHO HAD SAID THEM. After I finally got over myself, I came across something that led me to the following passage of Scripture that brought my simple situation into a whole new light.
Luke 7:18 The disciples of John
reported to him about all these things. 19 Summoning two of his
disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?” 20 When the men came to Him,
they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, ‘Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?’”21 At
that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind. 22 And He answered and said to
them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind
receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised
up, the poor
have the gospel preached to them. 23 Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”
If you consider John the Baptist for a moment, you realize that he had grown up close to Jesus - being his cousin didn't hurt - and he had been directly involved in the ministry of preparing people for the coming and ministry of Jesus Himself. Yet, when he was in jail he was offended. John was offended that Jesus was doing all of the great things He was doing for everyone else, and yet the great servant John was in jail. How was it fair for Jesus to not swoop to John's rescue? Jesus summed up one of the most important lessons any of us can ever learn:
Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.
To be blessed of God is to be fortunate or advantaged of God. To take offense can literally mean to see in another what I disapprove of and what hinders me from acknowledging him and his authority. The issue for John and the issue for us is that we can become offended at Christ for not meeting our "in the moment" need and forfeit or miss the blessing He desires to have on our lives. It can completely become the misfortune of sacrificing God's best on the altar of our disappointment of missing God's good. Consider this same verse in a more drawn out way (my own interpretation).
You
will find yourself in the state of receiving God’s blessing and favor if you do
not allow what I do or do not do to hinder you from acknowledging My authority.
John got offended because he was in jail. I got offended over a stupid screw in a power wheel. What about you? Do you have any offense toward Christ? It can be quite a stealer of God's blessing on your life. Is it worth it? The ultimate calling of God for all of us is to simply trust Him and to view and accept Him as God. Besides, isn't that what He is anyway?
