By Mark Hamby
“He shall not cry out or raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench…he shall not fail nor be discouraged, until he have set justice in the earth; …I the Lord, have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will keep you, and give you for a promise of the people, for a light of the nations, to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison house.”
This quote from Isaiah 42 describes the ministry of Jesus and our ministry today as parents. This same verse is again quoted in Matthew 12 prior to the healing of the demon possessed, blind and deaf man. And just prior to Matthew’s quoting of Isaiah, Jesus withdraws from the center of attention and charges the multitude that followed him to not make him known. The reason for this charge, was to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy that Jesus would not come and demand for people to listen to him (shall not cry out or cause to be heard). In fact, he goes as far as telling the crowd not to even make him known! You see, Jesus was to be followed not because of His demands and authority, but because of His meek servant’s spirit. “And He healed them all.” ALL! He could have looked at the big picture and focused only on the message of eternal life, but He took time to heal their infirmities. He took time with the weak and irritating people and He did not need to raise His voice.
A bruised reed shall he not break represents the weak people. A bruised reed can easily represent our children. Have you ever seen an Amaryllis plant? I love watching them grow. I have seen some reach heights of nearly three feet. However, when they reach such heights they can easily bend and for the most part the only thing left to do is to cut the stem off. But not with Jesus—even a weak or perhaps stubborn slouching reed he will not break—he will hold and lift it up until it grows strong enough to be on its own. What a beautiful picture and example for parents.
“A smoking flax He will not put out.” The NASB translated this to say, “And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish.” What a beautiful example of patience. All too often our expectations for our children’s spiritual maturity are unreasonable or unrealistic. Maybe our reason for desiring perfect children is for own image is exalted. Jesus wasn’t interested in His own image. In fact He was the opposite of what people imagined the Messiah to be. Oh how often I disciplined my children because of my own image! Jesus will not put out the littlest flicker, even though it fills the room with sooty smoke. Oh how irritating it is when you are trying to get something to burn and it just fills your eyes with smoke! Not Jesus—He trims the wick, fans the flicker until one day it begins to burn brightly for Him! Oh, I was so impatient—so forceful.
At the end of Matthew’s quote Jesus heals a deaf, dumb, blind, and demon possessed man, in order to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy in a literal sense. And the people’s response was, “Is not this the son of David?” Our actions in our homes and elsewhere, but especially our homes, should raise this same question in our children’s hearts. In their weakness and immaturity they should see us encounter them in meekness and during their irritating moments behold our patient perseverance. Maybe then they will see—Jesus.
** Mark Hamby is the founder and president of Cornerstone Family Ministries and Lamplighter Publishing. He lives in northeastern Pennsylvania with his wife, Debbie. He is a nationally recognized speaker and is most widely known for his seminars on The Strong-Willed Parent, The Angry Parent and Child, Laziness, Resolved Conflicts, and Removing the Mountains of Offense. As an author, speaker, and Bible teacher, what Mark enjoys most is helping people remove the mask in order to expose the heart. Unless the heart is reached there can be no lasting change. Through the genre of creative storytelling coupled with the life-changing power of God’s Word, Mark’s audiences have learned that the God of all grace is willing and able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that they could ask or think. He holds three master’s degrees and presently involved in doctoral studies, but recognizes that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. It is in that spirit that Mark believes is the key to our children’s heart—for humility is the foundation to a parent’s authority.
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PO Box 777, Waverly, PA 18471
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