Hebrews 11:23
23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.
Isaac Newton was a mathematician, astronomer, theologian, author and physicist who is widely recognized as one of the most influential scientists of all time and is most famous for discovering the Laws of Gravity. But Newton knew that he was not alone in all that he accomplished. In his letter to Robert Hooke he borrowed an old phrase and wrote, “If I have seen further it is by standing on ye shoulders of giants.” While he was a brilliant man in his own right, he acknowledged the men who came before him who helped make him into the man he was.
It is this phrase that comes to my mind today as I consider our latest example of faith. We have come to the life of Moses and, though he followed God to do awesome things, his life of faith began with the faith of his parents. In spite of the command from the king to throw all new-born males into the Nile River, the parents of Moses kept his birth a secret for 3 months. Then when he grew too much to keep hidden, his mother made a small boat for him and set the child afloat on the river, effectively placing him in the hands of God. We know the rest of the story, how the daughter of Pharaoh came “at just the right time” to wash and found Moses in the little improvised boat. She had her servants look for a Hebrew woman who had recently given birth to nurse the baby, which just so happened to be Moses mother. He was raised as royalty, given all of the training of a prince and prepared for command. I don’t know about you, but too many coincidences for me! God’s hand can be seen through each of these circumstances as He prepared His man for leading His people.
Think of the Examples of Faith we have seen so far: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph. Each of these walked with God in faith. (I wander what stories of Faith Moses’ nurse (mother) told him as she cuddled her son in the Pharaoh’s place). Moses knew that he stood on the shoulders of spiritual giants whose examples he followed as he led the children of Israel through the wilderness wanderings toward the promised land.
Think back on your life. Whose shoulders do you stand on? Whose life stands as a pedestal for you to see farther than they did, to go farther than they did, to serve God closer than they did? I can count many in my own life. My parents of course. Teachers who motivated me, preachers who helped me see God as I have never seen him before, and friends who have encouraged me to do more than I ever dreamed I could. It makes me wonder, will my children be able to stand on my shoulders and see further than I did? Will those in my church be able to stand on my shoulders and do more for Christ? Will someone one day look back on my life and say “I am standing on the shoulders of Giants”. Not that I want the notoriety, but I desire my life to be the motivation to make others want a closer walk with my Lord.
Today, as we ReFocus our hearts and minds on Christ let us remember those on whose shoulders we stand as we press forward to share the Gospel of Christ. And as we do, let us strive to live a life of faith that others can use as a pedestal to see and go even further in their walk with Jesus!