"Let Me Tell You"

 

    As I grow older, I find myself more and more loving to talk about my children and my grandchildren (and no, I do not yet have one of those "Let me tell you about my grandchildren" bumper stickers.  Nor do I plan to do so.  Well, at least I don't think I will...).

 

    This is a common trait of parents and grandparents, of course, and it has an interesting origin.  It begins in God.  He loves to talk about His children.  We know this because the Bible is replete with descriptions of the Lord's spiritual offspring, from Abel in Genesis to the faithful saints affirmed in the book of Revelation.  The stories of dozens of other sons and daughters of God regale us with examples of faithfulness and devotion, that is, His faithfulness and devotion revealed in the Scriptural accounts of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Samuel, Ruth, Mary, John, Peter, Paul, Rufus, and on and on.  Most of all, of course, God loves to talk about His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom every Scriptural page, chapter, verse and word is devoted.  "This is my beloved Son..." (Matthew 3:17).

 

    I suspect that throughout eternity we will hear our Heavenly Father recount stories of His children's walk with Him during the challenging sojourn of our earthly lives.  Most accounts will involve experiences never before told of His working and our responses to His working.  Times when we trusted Him when all evidence, emotion and human inclination seemed contradictory to faith.  Times when we quietly sacrificed ourselves for others by the leading, motivation and enabling of the indwelling love of Christ.  Times when walking the path of obedience to God cost us much, but we paid the toll.  And times when we were careful to hide the works of our right hand from our left in desire that only the Lord Jesus be glorified.  One story after another, billions and billions of chronicles joyfully recounted from the indelibly printed diary written in a loving Father's heart.

 

    God loves to talk about His children, even more than we love to talk about our own.  The Bible confirms such blessed truth with its ongoing saga of "Behold I and the children" (Hebrews 2:13).  Perhaps today in your life and mine, we will write upon the pages of the Divine heart some blessed moment that He will never forget and that He will forever love to tell.  Most importantly, all will glorify the Lord Jesus, who makes our relationship with God real and actual.  And all will tell the wonder of a Father who loves His trusting sons and daughters more dearly than even a long eternity will fully display.  Yes, God loves to talk about His children, about you and me...

 

"And what shall I more say?  For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.  Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth."

(Hebrews 10:32-38)