Blessed Octuplets

“I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men , the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.” Luke 12:8-9 NIV

     This is one of those remarks by Jesus that you don’t hear repeated much these days--it sounds so intolerant. Jesus is warning his followers that the choice to acknowledge him as King of kings and Lords of lords, as Israel’s Messiah and the Savior of all peoples, will be a costly choice. Many are unwilling to accept Jesus’ claims about himself--even though he offered himself up for us all and rose from the dead. They can make life rough for those who proclaim their loyalty to Christ alone.

     So will we choose the applause of those unwilling to have Jesus in authority over them or will we choose what Max Lucado calls the applause of heaven? What must it be like to step into the light of the heavenly throne room and hear Jesus acknowledge you as one of his own--a faithful servant and a son--to hear myriads of angels shout and sing for joy over another sinner saved by grace through faith in the Lord of all creation!

Pastor Charlie Scott

    
     Nadya Suleman has gone into hiding as a result of hate mail and death threats pouring into the web site set up for the family. Scorn is heaped upon the woman’s head in every media venue and on every street corner. Taxpayers know they will be footing a lot of the bills for these children. Many folks are concerned about potential disabilities among the eight and the likelihood that they will suffer some degree of neglect. I am sympathetic to these concerns, and I am even more distressed that she chose to raise all these little ones without a father in the home--ignoring God’s blueprint for the family. Yes, Nadya has made of string of unwise decisions, but let’s not forget two very important things:

     *  Nadya herself is precious to her Creator. None of her choices have caused God to love her less--an aspect of His character for which we can all be grateful! Christ died for her sins--He does not feel the contempt for her that many do. He has both the will and the power to make something extraordinarily beautiful out of her life. Like me, she needs only to surrender her soul to His keeping and trust in His forgiving grace.

     * Every baby born into the world is a gift from the Creator to us all. The newest Sulemans are not “eight babies that never should have been born.” They were formed for Christ’s pleasure and purposes--He delights in them! Each bears His image, having the potential to add a measure of His love to a world in desperate need of it. This is perhaps especially true of any who are disabled. Maliah, Noah, Jonah, Nariah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, McCai and Josiah are resented by the world, but Jesus calls them each by name and treasures them with His everlasting love.

     We should all seek to be more like Him.

Pastor Charlie Scott, February 2009