I’m sure some can relate. I was the baby of my family. There were two older brothers and two older sisters. While I am not real sure how it happened, nearly ten years after the clan was “complete” along I came to upset all of the great dreams and lofty aspirations that my older siblings may have had about just how the Watters family would be. It’s not that I was a bad kid, at least my Mom never told me I was, nor was I intentionally mischievous. I was just, well, the baby.
In being the baby there are some certain dynamics at play that you should be aware of if you are not privileged enough, or cursed as some might argue, to have been one. Let me share some with you: 1) Seating arrangements in the car will never be in your favor. If there is an uncomfortable spot, know that it is automatically yours. 2) Food or snacks around the house, will be gone before you ask for them. While your brothers are drinking the milk from the jug while cooling themselves in front of the refrigerator, you will be given Kool Aid that was left over from last week’s church dinner, that some dear saint just “knew you would love.” 3) Clothing will never be new. If there are corduroy bellbottom pants still in wearable condition, meaning that there are two or fewer holes in the knees, you will be wearing them. The same is true with dress shirts for church. 4) Your choice of music will always be selected for you. Older sisters who believe that they are a guarantee to be on the Grand Old Opry in the very near future, will always have control of the radio stations that are listened to. I could list many more wonderful things about being the baby but let this last nugget of truth suffice. You will rarely be first in anything. In KJV type language it may be said of you, “He whom was born last, shall remain the last in all things through their childhood and possibly forevermore if not cautious.” I joke, but as a little guy sometimes I really felt that this was my plight. Poor Jon Jon, would be last forevermore.
Can I share a secret with you. While it may feel that way humanly speaking, it’s not the way that it is with God. It’s not our birth order, it’s not our financial status, it’s not our ability. It’s not even the potential that we may have to someday sing on the Grand Old Opry stage. He loves us as we are, where we are, and how we are. As Mildred Wynkoop said, “He doesn’t expect anything more than for our lowest degree of obedience to be the highest of which we are capable of living at that particular moment by the grace of God.” Isn’t that amazing? He must really, really, love us!
Before we start to think that we have won the golden ticket and have little to do with things, let’s remember, obedience isn’t always easy. We don’t always see the end of the story. So when God says go, we may hesitate. When God says speak, we may be filled with fear. When He requires a higher level of service, we may see only our inadequacies. Obedience can be hard sometimes. But it’s easier when we know that we have someone helping. Let’s go back to what Wynkoop said, “by the grace of God.” It’s not about us… it’s all about Him and His grace.
Friends remember, when you feel unsure, when you feel inadequate, when you feel last in line and much like I often did as the baby of the family, you are not on the journey alone. Throughout the scriptures we see that to the believer, the Holy Spirit has been promised. To empower us, to enable us, and to strengthen us as we walk this road called life. Keep looking to Him for your strength and power. Don’t settle for the leftovers. You are a child of the King of King and Lord of Lords! Lift your head high and go forth as a beacon of hope in a darkened world.
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