Millstone Necklace

Matthew 18:6 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. NKJV

Millstones came in all shapes and sizes. From smaller stones that one or two people could use, increasing in size to giant stones, but they all had at least one thing in common … they were heavy. The word used here for millstone, refers to a set of large stones that would require the brute force of a mule to make them grind together. 

If you went into the drink with a millstone necklace, you were not coming back up. It’s a one way ticket. You don’t want to go swimming with a millstone necklace.

These days, we might use the term cement shoes. You’ve probably heard the phrase in mobster movies. You know the situation … one mobster wants to make another mobster disappear. Unfortunately, bodies have the habit of popping up out of the water, so they place his feet in cement in order to weight the body down and keep it under the water.

But cement shoes and mob hits aside, I think there is something here that many of us miss reading this because we don’t make it personal.

It seems that with every day the news is more and more replete with news of children kidnapped and murdered or abused by parents or friends. I have a hard time watching any movie or television program, reading any news articles or whatever about children being hurt. It’s because I have kids and I love them dearly. I don’t know what I would do to anyone who intentionally harmed them.

What does that have to do with this devotion? Well, this … our God is jealous for us … He wants our affections.

1 John 4:9-10 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. NKJV

God wants our affections and is provoked by anyone who would usurp them. God looks at you and says to those who would seek to steal your heart … “I’ve got a pair of cement shoes waiting on you if you hurt my beloved child.”

God is protective of His children.

Yet, sometimes we don’t feel protected, but that’s because we don’t see what God sees.

When I was a kid, I went to a sports event and was excited because I got to sit down close to the field. I soon realized that close to the field was not the best point of view except for seeing what’s going on directly in front of you. Later in life, I watched a game from higher up in the seats and had a much better view of the whole field. 

You know, God, the Creator of heaven and earth … He built this thing … He’s got the better view. He get’s the VIP seat. If you are God’s child, you don’t have to worry because God has the best, His best in store for you. 

Whatever that may hold.