My children understand that this pride-filled behavior will not lead anywhere they want to go and that God hates it. They know Proverbs 16:18 that says pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. If you strive to bless yourself through pride and greed, God may let you savor that life for a moment, and you might get your 15 minutes of fame, but He will cut down your empire and leave you with less than you started with. Every pride-filled "star" falls and it seems most especially prevalent in the childhood stars as they become adults. There are numerous examples I've shown my kids as proof of this Proverb. Pride doesn't pay. It will cost you everything. This is not how the godly are called to live. 1 Thessalonians 4:10-12 tells us how to live. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.
The question then becomes, what and who is "great" in God's eyes? How does one become great? Jesus talks about who is greatest and least quite a bit in scripture often needing to set the records straight between the world's view of greatness and God's. In Luke 9, the disciples begin to argue about which of them will be the greatest in the literal Kingdom and Jesus perceiving their thoughts, took a little child and set him by Him, and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.” Luke 9:47-48. In short, greatness IS humility, and true humility is submitting your life to Christ and waiting on His timing for glory and honor. Matthew 23:12 says that the Lord exalts the humble. His honor and blessing are better than anything a human can give himself or another. What He gives, no man can take away. This is the honor godly parents should seek and teach their children (by example) to seek; to be known and recognized by God and not the world. If He wants the world to recognize you, it'll happen in His timing and without striving and living like a demon on our part.
This is a good time to look at the parable of the mustard seed because it clearly shows the results of humbly submitting your life to God. Jesus began teaching in parables after being accused of being a demon. When the disciples asked Him why the change, He explained that the knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven was given to some, but not to all. Thus the parables were given to those who didn't believe in Him in order to confuse them further while the explanation of the parables was given to the disciples because they believed. That said, the parable of the mustard seed was not explained to the disciples so I'll assume they were smart enough to figure it out. Yet I see many "teachers" butcher it in Bible studies today saying the Kingdom in this parable represents the mega churches defiled by sin. So, lets get something straight; the Kingdom of Heaven is always pure because it is from God and is God. It can only be received from God by those who have humbled themselves before Him and received Jesus as their Savior. Matthew 5:3 The devil may sow weeds among the kingdom seeds and make them appear similar, but God knows the difference and the weeds are pulled up and burned at harvest time. The kingdom seeds are always pure while the demon weeds are always bad. Matthew 13:24-30
Matthew 13:31
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
One key to understanding this parable is understanding who the mustard seed is. The mustard seed is denoted here as "the least of all seeds;" the smallest in comparison to all of the other seeds. When you see "least" you need to read "humble." When you see humble, you need to think of the most humble person to walk the Earth: Jesus, who bids us, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 The mustard seed is Jesus, who a man - after he humbles himself before God - then sows deep in his heart. It is then up to God as to what that seed will grow into. Our job is to stay humble and moldable through the process.
What's interesting in this parable is that the lowly mustard seed Jesus speaks of becomes a tree. Reader take note, mustard is an annual herb. (meaning it dies every year) Furthermore, plant height at maturity varies from a 30 to 45 inch bush. Mustard looks like the below image.
If a single mustard seed were to grow into a tree, that would be an amazing transformation worthy of the Guinness book of World Records. In short, it would not go unnoticed because it defies all worldly expectation of normal growth. I'm sure a lot of people would love to see it, both in picture and real life. Imagine the beauty of a tree full of these yellow flowers and later the immense seed harvest. Mustard lovers would flock to it just like the birds come to nest in it in this parable. When something is astonishingly magnificent, not only do people recognize that something unbelievable has happened, but they also want to become part of it.
When we fully allow the Lord to do His work on us, the end result HAS to be greatness. And not worldly greatness but supernatural greatness which is far better in comparison. The Kingdom of Heaven (God inside you) invades, infuses and transforms every part of your life until you become a whole new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17) In the parable of the mustard seed, this incredible transformation and resulting greatness is exactly what Jesus was trying to get people to wrap their mind around. The Kingdom of Heaven and all of it's benefits is something that comes from above and it's available to whosoever will humble themselves and call upon Jesus.
Do you know someone whom God has exalted that can become a role model for you and your children? Sometimes it's hard for a child to understand what is wrong with the world's ways when that's all they see. Seeing a truly humble life often exposes what is wrong with what the worldly. One cannot help but be attracted to a humble person. However, Godly role models do seem to be lacking these days so if you need a Biblical example, choose David. So lowly that even his own father didn't offer him to Samuel to choose as the next King. Yet, he was the one God wanted simply because he was humble. God said that David was "a man after God's heart." And he was exalted on Earth.
I have been lucky to have had a couple very good examples of God's favor and blessing. Delma, of course was one of those. Her humble life impacts mine on a daily basis and while she wasn't highly exalted on Earth, God's favor was rich in her life. She was like the Jewish man spoken of in Zechariah 8:23 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." I always knew that if I wanted to be nearer to God, I needed to be with Del because He was surely with her. I know her reward in Heaven is beyond imagination. Every time I speak her name, I hope God showers her with reward. Unfortunately, my children only know her through me so while I plant the "Delma seeds" I don't know if they will grow in them as the did in me.
There is another example whom my children do know who will always have a special place in my heart and whose humility has significantly impacted my life. I'm speaking of Toni, my midwife. She has given her entire life to bringing new life into the world and being a godsend to every pregnant mama she meets. I blogged about how much she has meant to me here. The photo tribute I spoke of in that post is here. (Somehow Mark and I are in a lot of those pictures) This is a woman whom God has lifted up and she was given the opportunity to be honored here by so many, yet just a fraction of those who have been impacted by her. The gathering we attended in her honor really makes this parable come alive for me. It is only a person filled with the Kingdom of Heaven and exalted by God that could touch that many lives in such an intimate marvelous way. The love and honor in that gymnasium was so thick that I walked out praying He might allow me to significantly impact people's lives for Him as she did. That was an honor that He brought to her and no man can ever take away.
1 Peter 5:6 reminds, Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, And when that times arrives, people will marvel at God's work in you and they'll want to know how to share in it. Point them back to the mustard seed parable; true greatness is born in humble submission to God. Quietly live out the life He lays in front of you. Do what is right in His eyes. Be a person after His heart, teach your children to do the same. Do these things and He will crown you with honor and glory that will never fade.
When we fully allow the Lord to do His work on us, the end result HAS to be greatness. And not worldly greatness but supernatural greatness which is far better in comparison. The Kingdom of Heaven (God inside you) invades, infuses and transforms every part of your life until you become a whole new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17) In the parable of the mustard seed, this incredible transformation and resulting greatness is exactly what Jesus was trying to get people to wrap their mind around. The Kingdom of Heaven and all of it's benefits is something that comes from above and it's available to whosoever will humble themselves and call upon Jesus.
Do you know someone whom God has exalted that can become a role model for you and your children? Sometimes it's hard for a child to understand what is wrong with the world's ways when that's all they see. Seeing a truly humble life often exposes what is wrong with what the worldly. One cannot help but be attracted to a humble person. However, Godly role models do seem to be lacking these days so if you need a Biblical example, choose David. So lowly that even his own father didn't offer him to Samuel to choose as the next King. Yet, he was the one God wanted simply because he was humble. God said that David was "a man after God's heart." And he was exalted on Earth.
I have been lucky to have had a couple very good examples of God's favor and blessing. Delma, of course was one of those. Her humble life impacts mine on a daily basis and while she wasn't highly exalted on Earth, God's favor was rich in her life. She was like the Jewish man spoken of in Zechariah 8:23 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." I always knew that if I wanted to be nearer to God, I needed to be with Del because He was surely with her. I know her reward in Heaven is beyond imagination. Every time I speak her name, I hope God showers her with reward. Unfortunately, my children only know her through me so while I plant the "Delma seeds" I don't know if they will grow in them as the did in me.
There is another example whom my children do know who will always have a special place in my heart and whose humility has significantly impacted my life. I'm speaking of Toni, my midwife. She has given her entire life to bringing new life into the world and being a godsend to every pregnant mama she meets. I blogged about how much she has meant to me here. The photo tribute I spoke of in that post is here. (Somehow Mark and I are in a lot of those pictures) This is a woman whom God has lifted up and she was given the opportunity to be honored here by so many, yet just a fraction of those who have been impacted by her. The gathering we attended in her honor really makes this parable come alive for me. It is only a person filled with the Kingdom of Heaven and exalted by God that could touch that many lives in such an intimate marvelous way. The love and honor in that gymnasium was so thick that I walked out praying He might allow me to significantly impact people's lives for Him as she did. That was an honor that He brought to her and no man can ever take away.
1 Peter 5:6 reminds, Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, And when that times arrives, people will marvel at God's work in you and they'll want to know how to share in it. Point them back to the mustard seed parable; true greatness is born in humble submission to God. Quietly live out the life He lays in front of you. Do what is right in His eyes. Be a person after His heart, teach your children to do the same. Do these things and He will crown you with honor and glory that will never fade.
Psalm 149:4
For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.
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