July 17: Matthew 11:26-27
Key Verse: Matthew 11:25
At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
Devotion:
As Jesus was teaching the disciples, He saw how they were having their eyes and hearts opened through their believing in what He was teaching them. Jesus marvelled at this and praised His Father in heaven for allowing this to be so. He had seen how the teachers of the law, the scribes and the Pharisees had learned so much but had not accepted the truth in their hearts. They were simply living out the law and trying to earn a place in heaven through what they were doing.
Jesus wanted them, and us, to see that it is more of a relationship we attain with God and maintain through our belief and our faith. As we grow in God and allow the Spirit of God to guide and teach us, we learn directly from Him just as a child learns from their parent(s).
God had given this knowledge to Jesus even though He was then in human form so He would be able to share that way of living with God with us all. Jesus had to be the example through which we could understand this is all possible even though we are sinners and should be eternally separated from God because of our sin. Jesus had stepped up and placed His own life on the line to pay for our sins.
When we accept this we become children of God and He can then allow the Holy Spirit to commune with us and guide us every step of the way from that moment on. That is God’s amazing gift to us!
Points to Ponder:
Do you accept Jesus as the Son of God?
Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you?