June 28

Gamaliel

            But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree.  God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.  And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”

                When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time.  Then he said to them, “Fellow Israelites, consider carefully what you propose to do to these men. For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and disappeared.  After him Judas the Galilean rose up at the time of the census and got people to follow him; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered.  So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found fighting against God!”

            They were convinced by him, and when they had called in the apostles, they had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.  As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.  And every day in the temple and at home they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah.

Acts 5:29-42

    

            Patience.  Patience is so hard.  The ability to take the long-term view and know that waiting will lead to the better result than acting immediately is not something that comes naturally to most of us.  Patience is not easy for us as parents.  It is certainly not easy for our kids.  And yet there are some amazing benefits that come along with being able to wait.

            Take Gamaliel, for example.  He was a religious leader of the Jews.  He wanted their religion to remain pure and untainted by false teaching as zealously as anyone else.  When men appeared before them testifying that Jesus had risen from the dead and that He was the long-awaited Messiah, he dismissed it as heresy and wanted to silence the disciples just like his peers.  However, Gamaliel knew the power of patience.  Heresies had arisen in the past and they had burned themselves out.  If there is a movement driven by man, it will eventually be exposed as a personality cult and disappear.  If there is a movement that is fueled by the power of the living God, nothing can stand in its way.  It was too early to tell which category Peter and John fell into and Gamaliel counseled that it would be wise to wait and see so that they would not be on the wrong side.

            It is so hard to be patient and look at the big picture.  At our day services center the progress was slow and difficult to see from day to day.  But when you were able to look at steps that were made over the span of a year or two years or five years, the transformations were undeniable.  One young man came to our center after a traumatic brain injury.  He was wheelchair bound, non-verbal and moved agonizingly slow.  We would feed him, attend to his hygiene needs and slowly start working on motor skills and standing and some sign language.  Every day the reports showed the same thing: No substantial progress to report.  The providers could help him stand for a little bit and get a spoon to his mouth.  Then he could take a few assisted steps and slowly point to an item that he wanted.  Day after day there was no discernable difference.  But over the course of the year he relearned to walk and he relearned to feed himself and he relearned how to use some simple communication tools.  He made so much progress that he was able to return to his home village to live in an assisted residence facility near his family, which had been the long-term goal all along.

            Sometimes it is helpful for us as parents to take a step back, away from the minutia and all the details and crises of our current life.  Look at the big picture.  See how far your child has come.  See what they can do now that used to be only a dream.  See what kind of tools and resources they have now that you never imagined that they would have access to.  There is progress.  There is movement and momentum.  Sometimes it just takes patience and a willingness to look at the big picture to see it.

  

A moment to reflect:

How is your child’s life different now than it was 1 year ago?  5 years ago?