How Many Of You, As Parents, Asked Your Kids To ...

How many of you, as parents, asked your kids to go get you something--a glass of water, a towel, shoes, or something like that--and you spend the next 5 or 10 minutes dealing with their whining, or pouting, or tantrum, or just plain stubbornness?

When I was between about 8-12 years old, many of our Saturdays during the warmer months was spent "up at the barn." My stepfather had built a barn, which we had helped with. And he was an electrician, a plumber, a little bit of a carpenter, a welder. And because of all that, he collected all kinds of tools and supplies that related to all these different things that he could do. And I hesitate to use the word, ’junk,’ but he had an awful lot of stuff, because he never knew when he might need it. But one of the problems I had was this: My stepfather was the kind of worker who started a job, like putting up a fence, or mixing concrete, or running electrical wires, or fixing some plumbing--and after a few minutes, he would say to me, "I need you to go into the barn and get me ___________." Now, we probably had as much stuff as Lowe’s or Home Depot, but the stuff wasn’t nearly as organized. So, it was like finding a needle in a haystack. I remember one time he asked me to go get him some "channel-locks." I know what they are now, but I’m going through a pile of stuff without a clue as to what I’m looking for. That happened several times. Even if I knew what I was looking for, there was no guarantee that I could find it. But I tried; I went.

These two disciples went where Jesus told them to go, and did what Jesus told them to do. And when they were faced with questions about what they were doing, they said what Jesus told them to say, and everything was fine.

Jesus said it simply, "If you love me, you will obey what I command" (John 14: 15).