July 7 - In His Arms

Mark 10:13-16

And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. (Mark 10:16 ESV)

One day some kids were coming up to Jesus. Some of his disciples seemed not to like it very much and started hindering them. Jesus wouldn't stand for it and used the opportunity as a teaching point. He told them that the kingdom of God must be received as a child would receive it. And then he continued to accept children and bless them.

Mark, writing Peter's account of things, said that he took them in his harms. The children enjoyed Jesus. He just have been fun and funny. He hugged them. He showed them innocent affection born of deep love for their young hearts, and pure spirits.

For many of us it is far too late in life to contemplate existing with a pure and innocent spirit. Because of bad choices or terrible circumstances many of us have either given away or been robbed of innocence. But Jesus came to this earth to restore it to us. And just as he took the children up in his arms, he draws us into his majestic presence to restore to us the purity of spirit with which we were created.

Believing in Christ as Lord takes us into his presence. It begins our life with him. It as an action of desired innocence. It is childlike. And as a result he takes us in his arms. He blesses us. He puts his hand over our lives. A life lived with the Hand of God on it is a blessed life indeed.

White: the Innocence

I was watching The Munsters with my nephew and brother-in-law this weekend. It was great. It had been so long since I had watched it, that I had forgotten what a wholesome, family friendly, show it was. It made me start to think about a lot of things that seem to have grown dirty and soiled over the years. TV definitely, but I think in general our pop-culture has certainly lost its innocence. Hearing yesterday's big news on the passing of TV legend Andy Griffith was for me, like so many others, a proverbial nail in the coffin.

In the aftermath of the very sad news I was watching an interview with the classy Matlock star the night he was inducted into the Hall of Fame some time ago. The interviewer questioned Andy about his opinion on the "modern" state of TV. I found his answer to be a sad commentary. In short, he had stopped watching TV long ago, really only preferring the news if he watched at all. A public indictment from Mayberry's humble Sheriff is quite the statement on the condition of entertainment in America.

I'm not some ultra-conservative fundamentalist here to bemoan all aspects of media and entertainment. There are still a few decent programs you can watch. It just takes some research and censorship on our part to find them. Particularly for me, I find myself watching less and less television all the time. My chief sources for entertainment have shifted to books and film, where I am incredibly critical and careful of both. (I recently greatly enjoyed seeing Brave and John Carter.)

Growing up through the 80s the TV landscape was vastly different than today. The Andy Griffith Show reruns I used to watch have been replaced by really crappy reality TV, vitriol spewing news networks, and filthy "comedy".

Traditionally the color white has always stood for purity, wholesomeness, and innocence. This 4th of July, as my wife and I stay indoors to watch movies together (The Vow, Patriot, and Captain America) I am wishing that were still the case.

Blogs in this series: Red: the Sacrifice White: the Innocence Blue: the Sadness