Postscript to "..thus is the kingdom of God"

After some contemplation of the last blog I wrote about my grandchildren I would like to add a little more. I cannot explain how I made the connection between my childhood and the childhood of my grandchildren. I do know that I was affected by numerous individuals in my childhood as my grandchildren are and for that matter I suppose all grandchildren of all grandparents.

There have been and are grandparents of all sorts. Some are excellent, some are good, some are average, some of poor, and some are downright devastating to the lives of these "...little ones..." Most good thinking and good intentioned grandparents would not harm their grandchildren in any way. As a matter of fact they would do their best to do them good under all circumstances.

Some grandparents are so selfish they don't care how their grandchildren could be affected. But most do care and when their grandchildren are adversely affected, whether it be something they do, or something out of their control they hurt with their grandchildren.

I think Jesus was speaking of our well meaning and good treatment of the "...little ones..." in Mt. 10:42 when He said..."And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward." Even a small and insignificant attempt to help them is not ignored by the Savior.

On the other hand he said quite a different thing in respect to these "...little ones..." in Mt. 18:10 "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven." This Greek word for "...despise..." is defined as "...to hold in contempt..." "...to think lightly of..." And there is no doubt that everyone who reads the newspapers and watches the news is aware of the fact that these little ones are in some way or another daily overlooked and mistreated in unimaginable ways.

Jesus said something else about "...little ones... in Mt. 18. "Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me."(Mt. 18:5)

Then on the other hand in Mark 9:42 He says speaking of the "...little ones..." "...whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea."

When I looked at the meaning of this word "...stumble..." I was taken back to my own childhood. The word in this passage is skandalizo. It means to cause to stumble or fall. A word closely akin to it is skandalon. And it is here that I was taken back into my childhood and because of that I understand completely how the "...little ones..." can be maltreated. This word means the trigger of a trap on which bait is placed causing entrapment. We understood the concept completely when we told our children "never take anything from a stranger." And I understand more completely the word when I look back in my childhood...One of the best old men I know was my step-grandfather. He was an old-school kind of fellow. He could cuss a blue streak but a kinder person to children you would never meet. I used to hunt with him. He was quite a hunter. He retired from the Standard Oil Company in Baton Rouge and spent the rest of his life doing what he loved to do, hunting in the Lake Maurepas swamps. I have always been a sportsman and on many occasions I hunted with him. I attempted on occasions to trap birds by putting a stick under a box with a string attached to it and lured the birds into the box by putting bread under the box. He picked up on that and went to the trouble of having me a more complex and sophisticated bird catcher built. Perhaps he built it himself. It was in the shape of the old Mesopotamian ziggurats. It was built with little strips of wood. The complicated thing was the trigger mechanism. There were three sticks of wood. One held the box up. The other two were balanced on that one with slight notches to hold them temporarily together until the bait was taken. The bait was put on the one that extended farthest back into the box. When the bait was taken the box fell on the unsuspecting animal or bird. The bait was put on the trigger or skandalon and the little animal was caught. The animal was enticed and the enticement caused discomfort. Zodhiates by definition tells us that the "...little ones..." can be led to exercise a liberty against his conscience. And this can be done by baiting the unsuspecting "...little one..." Question is...Who would do that? What motive is there for doing that? Is it honorable? Does it take into account the well-being of the "...little ones..."? Or is it self-serving? And who would purposely do that? Is it even possible? Apparently for the Master Teacher says it is.

So what does that have to do with the subject at hand? Simply this. Jesus sets up the possible ways we can affect the lives of others. We can give them a cup of cold water in His name. We can despise them. We can cause them to stumble. We can treat them kindly. We can manipulate them and set up circumstances that will cause them consternation. Which one will we choose?

The Word tells us to "...love..." "...do good..." "...be kindly affectioned..." "..serve..." etc.,etc.,etc.,etc.....I can do that. Will I?