Message from Yvonne Calderon, Middle School Teacher

Matthew 11:6

6Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

Have you ever stubbed your toe? I mean stubbed it to the point where it brought tears to your eyes? At that moment, are you thinking about the laundry in the washer, the yard that needs tending to or the bills that need to be paid? The answer is a resounding NO!!

 

You cannot think beyond your pain. Your pain has shrunk you down to the size of your toe! For that moment, you cannot think about anyone or anything. Your compassion is GONE! If only for a split second, you ARE the size of your toe.

When reading about John the Baptist, I am reminded that we can lose sight of the big picture. We can become focused on our pain. In Matthew 11 John the Baptist is in prison. He is the cousin of Jesus. He has been reduced to the size of his pain. 

Matthew 11

2When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples
3to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

When Jesus answers, he is not arrogant. He doesn’t say YOU BETCHA!!! He does not share an escape plan for John. Jesus encourages the disciples to go back and remind John of the things they are seeing outside the prison walls.

4Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosyb are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 

The last sentence in this verse is the one that I hold dear.

6Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” 

Jesus knew EXACLTY how we get! Jesus knew that sometimes it would appear that he was absent! He knew that sometimes we could only see to the end of our pain, the end of our prison cell if you would. 

Whether you can see GOD or not, circumstances DO NOT reflect how God feels about me!

How God feels about me was reflected on the cross! 

I do not know where you are on your joy meter. When I am writing this, my joy meter is pegged at ZERO! The circumstances in my life have been very overwhelming for some time now. However, I remind myself, that I need to look to the cross to find out how much God loves me!

I need to walk straight and not stumble just because I cannot see God’s plan. 

Matthew 11:6

6Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”