Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good morning, dear people.

It’s already been a full day—even though it’s not even half gone. And there’s more to come.

I had Hondo dog sleep outside last night. He did fine. I folded and spread out the same blanket on the floor of his doghouse that I used in the back seat of the car on Sunday. The familiar smell may have helped him to feel more at home in there.

With this list staring at me, I better keep moving. May you have a productive and blessed day.

Love, Dad/Ray.

Jesus had just expounded on the marvels and principles of gender attractions that make for God’s ideal for an exclusive and blessed marriage among mature adults. He clearly underscored it as “a God thing”—“the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’” (v. 4-5). Of course the disciples heard this exposition. But evidence is given here that they were not connecting some important dots.

Where do adults come from? They come from children who grow to adulthood in a process over time. Where do children come from? They come from adult marriages (one man and one woman)—at least from “the act of marriage”—from designed “one flesh-ness”—resulting in the marvelous gift of procreation. To emphasize these well-known facts of life, we might add, “Duh!” However, it’s like the disciples were making a serious error in judgment to presume that Jesus was only for adults. “Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them” (v. 13). What?! Rebuke?! As though these pre-adults were irrelevant and unimportant?! Exclude them and disrupt the very plan of God for their nurturing, development, and path to successful adulthood?! What a crazy mistake! Thankfully, Jesus would have none of it! Instead, He turned and rebuked the disciples for their wrong thinking. And I, for one, have to be very glad—and thankful—because as a 6-year-old kid in a little church in Bremerton, Washington, where the Gospel was presented in terms I could adequately understand, I responded to the inviting arms of Jesus as my personal Savior and Lord. That was 66 years ago. I guess the little kid in me remains. Although I’m a big kid now, I still don’t want to leave His embrace. I am not ashamed to continue singing, “I am weak, but He is strong—Yes, Jesus loves me.” Besides other evidences, “the Bible tells me so.”