The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Luke 2:21-24, “And when eight days were completed before His circumcision, His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

22 And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord

23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every first-born male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord ‘),

24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, ‘A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.’”

Being born male and Jewish in ancient times required three ceremonies: Circumcision, the Redemption of the First-born, and Purification after childbirth. A lot could be said here about these factors, but it is important not to overlook that behind all of these requirements is the conviction that every child is a gift from God. The Stoic philosophers used to say that “a child is not given to the parents, only loaned’; and of all the

gifts one might receive from God, none is so precious as the gift of a child.

In offering the required sacrifice, Mary and Joseph revealed their poverty. Had they been wealthy, they would have brought a lamb; but being poor, they were only required to bring either two turtledoves, or two young pidgeons. Jesus was born under the Law, and met all the legal requirements. The Father provided

for impoverished parents. Jesus Himself later said, “The poor you always have with you…” (Mark 14:7). Those without wealth are as much the concern of the LORD as are those with wealth. The LORD places all of us where we are best fitted for His service and His glory. We should never despair of being poor. Instead, we should rejoice that we are His and are ever and always under His protective care.

Parents today should recognize their children as gifts from the LORD, and should school them well in His Word. Parents should live a godly example before their children. I spoke recently with a woman, who has a wayward son. While she recognizes that her son has strayed from the things of the LORD, she is not fully aware that her own misgivings have allowed, if not encouraged, her son’s waywardness. Not all children with wayward parents turn out to be wayward themselves. Yet, as Alexander Pope once said, “As the twig is bent, so is the tree inclined.” Parents must accept their failures in parenting and should repent before the LORD.

In the final analysis, no child can blame his parents for his own evil involvements. The most evil of men can come to know the LORD by simply trusting Him to forgive their own sin. Blaming one’s parents for trials and temptations will not stand before God. Peter tells us that the LORD keeps “…the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority” (2 Pet. 2:9-10). No, none of us can do wrong and get by. So, if you have sins or even an inclination toward doing wrong, you had best clean up your act. God will not forget, but He will forgive.

You are ever in our thoughts and prayers,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”