Brazen little Jacob
It was Tuesday afternoon a young boy and his mother walked into the chiropractor’s office for her bi-weekly adjustment. They had come straight from school, and this was just one of a few appointments and errands that they would be on today. Before her chiropractor welcomed her and invited her into his cubicle for her routine adjustment, she told her son, “stay in the reception area and keep quiet alright. Jacob, I need you to be on your best behavior in the doctor’s office.” “Ok mom,” little Jacob responded. Occasionally, Jacob’s mom would glance over to see what he was doing and he seemed content looking at the many magazines spread out across the table top. As time passed, his anxiety caused a slight disinterest in People magazine and Newsweek, and Jacob began to make himself at home. In the corner of the reception there is a small refrigerator stocked with Gatorade, water and other refreshments, This became Jacob’s fascination and it wasn’t too long before little Jacob was raiding the fridge as he is accustomed to doing at home. The assistants and patients watched with amusement as this child began to eat his choice of snacks and picked out his favorite colored bottle of juice, set out for hungry and thirsty patients. Most, if not all those watching had never been so audacious as to even open the refrigerator, much less take something out of it. Even though the refreshments are clearly free and for anyone that desired them, it just didn’t seem right to take them. The child’s free spirit had no awareness of this unwritten rule and his ignorance of proper waiting room etiquette gave him the freedom to do whatever he wanted, as long as he was still on his best behavior and wasn’t causing a ruckus, like his mother had scolded him for doing several times before. Then, the coolest thing happened. Little Jacob was having a difficult time opening his bottle of juice. He pulled and tugged and even attempted to bite the cap off to no avail. His disappointed expression was comparable to a cute puppy that had exhausted his attempts to catch his tail. One of the Chiropractors noticed that he was having trouble and went up to the child and asked if he needed help. “Um…ok, I can’t get it opened,” he said. The doctor smiled and pulled at the tight lid, the cap came off and Jacob’s face lit up with a bright smile. “Thank You Sir.” The doctor said, “You’re welcome, what’s your name?” “I’m Jacob, nice to meet you.”
The culture in the New Testament had little to offer the little children. They were given less respect than the women and slaves. They were kept out of the public view and had nothing to call there own. Yet, Jesus offered them the Kingdom of heaven in Matthew 19. He said a chapter earlier “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven.” He even goes as far as to compare a child’s humility to Greatness in the Kingdom of heaven. There’s something about Jacob’s ability to make himself at home in a chiropractor’s office that is evocative of God’s compassionate love and undeserved grace gift. There is a refrigerator full of refreshments and tasty snacks, all it takes is the ability to open the door and pick out your favorite colored delight. We don’t even have to have the strength to open the bottle, God is willing and pleased to be the one that offers to bring to an end the strain of trying and failing to succeed and give us the blessings that bring Him joy and unfathomable glory.
If you think you have to wait for some divine permission to receive God’s blessings, then you need to quit waiting. If you think you have to work harder and then maybe God will be pleased with your efforts, then you’re wrong and you need to give up. If those questions really make you think about your life, then I suggest reading a book by Brennan Manning called “The Ragamuffin Gospel.” It’s a refreshing relief from the tedious, monotony of the religious life.
