Just to know His smile!

January 31, 2007

By Jerry Scott

Awards are everywhere — in the entertainment industry, in sports, at your job, at school. The Baseball Hall of Fame recently announced the induction of two new members — Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn. Last year, the Assemblies of God noted my 25-year anniversary of ordination to Christian ministry. I wear the pin denoting that milestone with some pride, hopefully the right kind of pride.

Not all awards have to be published or pinned. Drs. Trent and Smalley wrote a book to explain the importance of giving kids “the blessing,” urging parents to pass along appropriate affirmation for their children.

The way a parent gives honor to a child is one of the biggest influences that shape the child’s sense of worth and purpose for the rest of his life. A parent who treats a child with contempt and/or nagging criticism steals confidence and sets up that child to grow into an adult who will struggle with issues of inferiority. Parents who appropriately recognize and encourage their children help lay a foundation for good relationships and a sense of worth enduring to the grave!

There is one reward that supersedes, by far, all others: the blessing of God! How do we live in God’s blessing and enjoy His affirmation?

“This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word” (Isaiah 66:2, NIV). We cannot do anything for God that He could not do for himself. We are not rewarded with His blessings because we enriched Him in any way. To think that is absurd, and leads us into the Pharisaical folly of thinking that God is fortunate to have us on His team.

Remember the story Jesus told about two men who went to pray? The self-righteous Pharisee asked nothing of God, only commending himself to God for all the good things he had done. The “sinner” lowered his eyes and prayed only for mercy from God. Jesus said that only one man went home right with God, and it wasn’t the “good guy” (see Luke 18:10-14).

Are you living in humility before God, allowing Him to lead you? Are you discovering His will, day by day, not necessarily as He writes it in the sky in mile-high letters, but in obedience in the little things? There is the place of blessing, the place where His smile warms our hearts and we know what it is to live with a sense of close fellowship.

The 1981 movie Chariots of Fire told the story of Eric Liddell, a committed Christian who became an Olympic competitor, and later a missionary to China who died as a prisoner of the Japanese in World War II. There is a memorable line in that movie. Liddell confidently, yet humbly says, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.”

Nothing in the world can replace the sense that God takes pleasure from us as obedient children! If you’re running from Him, resisting Him, complaining about Him — stop, turn in repentance, and humbly give yourself to Him. That does not guarantee everything in your life will magically turn out wonderful, that you will be spared all difficulty. It does allow you to know the smile of God’s blessed approval. And that, my friend, supersedes all other awards, any other achievement.

Jerry D. Scott is senior pastor at Washington (N.J.) Assembly of God.