Daily Devotions

We now come to the book of Obadiah who was a prophet who spoke up against the nation of Edom, Judah’s southern neighbour. His message was that God was judging Edom for their pride and for being opportunists during the siege of Jerusalem (586 BC). Obadiah promises that one day God will restore Judah and judge her oppressors. A key lesson is that God grieves  when people take advantage of others’ misfortune.

In verse 4 we read, “Even if you fly high as the eagle, believing yourselves strong and free, and put your nest among the stars, I will have no trouble bringing you down.” Here Obadiah doesn’t pull any punches he gets straight to the point. 

A rather pompous-looking deacon was trying to impress a class of boys with the importance of living the Christian life. “Why do people call me a Christian?” the man asked. After a moment’s pause, one youngster said, “Maybe it’s because they don’t know you.” 

Or take the story about a pastor leaving a church to take up another appointment. At his farewell dinner, he tried to encourage one of the pillar members, “Don’t be so sad. The next pastor might be better than me.” She replied, “That’s what they said last time, but it keeps getting worse.”

In Matthew 18:4 we find Jesus saying to his disciples, “Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” He is telling his disciples that they needed to change and become humble like children. How? We cannot regain our youth, inexperience, or innocence. But we can learn to put our ego in its place, to stop pushing ourselves forward, hogging the conversation. We can learn to be happy in the background, no longer the centre of attention or striving to be the greatest. To be comfortable in that role is a huge grace.

Perhaps we should be careful about the heights we try to fly?.

Lord, you saw something in this child that you want to see in me: the capacity to wonder at the world, its smells and taste and sounds and sights; and a readiness to depend on others rather than be full of myself; and above all, a trust in you as my Father, for whom my destiny is all-important. Give me that childlike confidence in your love. Amen