THE CHILDREN'S OBSERVING
If you think for a while about the words of Jesus you will realise how much He taught from nature. It is called 'moral' teaching because it has to do with learning what is good and refusing what is evil. For one thing He drew attention to the lilies by the wayside, beautiful but fading: yet we read that Susanna, whose name means 'lily' had the lasting beauty of one who served the Lord with all that she had. Another lesson was that those who could tell the meaning of a red sky at night and a red sky in the morning ought to know the difference between blessing for receiving the Saviour and judgment for refusing Him. Again, tiny things like pieces of fluff, called 'motes', with which the little birds make their nests so cosy, can upset our eyesight. Thus a small thing can hinder our telling truth from error.
Scripture tells us that God is the "Observer of men" so that everyone young and old has to do with Him. Does the botany student know that His word searches more deeply within him than the strongest microscope into a flower? Does the little girl gazing at the planet Venus, a very brilliant evening star in the west this winter, realise that the Creator of them both is looking into her conscience and heart? Job, an old and good man, thought that he was being observed merely to find fault and to condemn, but his Maker really sought to justify him. A young but unwise man, called Ephraim so as to represent Israel, repented of his sins and God observed him bring forth the fruits of repentance. The shed blood and atoning work of Jesus, then future, gave a perfect cover for all their sins as for ours now who believe on Him.
One of the books in heaven's library is about some persons, over four centuries before the birth of Christ, who honoured God when most people turned away from Him. Doubtless there were many children amongst those who spoke together about His name, or renown. I expect that God's first words by the prophet Malachi - "I have loved you" - started the conversations and kept them alive! Those persons were a special treasure to Him and His observations of them are all in the "book of remembrance". I believe that there are now very many volumes of this book, especially since the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Is your name in the volume now being written?
J.C.Evershed