What does exalted mean and what does abased mean? Exalted means to be looked up to, to be treated special, to be honored. Abased means just the opposite. Abased means to be looked down upon, to be treated terrible, and be dis-honored.
One day I took my family to the river we were standing on the bank and we started feeding the sea gulls. They would all come closer and closer so we could throw them a chunk of bread. There were two sea gulls that kept trying to run the rest of the sea gulls off so they could get all the bread. I finally got tired of it, and started deliberately throwing the bread to the other sea gulls, and not throwing any bread in the direction of the two mean sea gulls. So it turned out that the two mean sea gulls ended up getting less bread from me that all the rest of the good sea gulls.
Until that time I had really never understood that verse. Now I do. As I stood their throwing bread to the sea gulls they were looking up to me for a handout, or for a blessing, like we do when we look up to God. I'm not really God, but the sea gulls didn't know that.
God loves us. He cares for us, and that's how He feels about everyone, not just a few, but everybody. God loves everybody. He wants to see everybody get a good deal. He's just like me when I was feeding the sea gulls. He gets mad when he sees someone trying to push the others out so that they can get more. For example in the Sunday school class, I see boys and girls pushing and shoving trying to get the seats up close to the front. Just like the sea gulls. God sees it too. And at school, God sees it every time you steal, every time you cheat, every time you lie.
How about when you are home, God sees how you treat your brother or your sister, and how you treat your mom and your dad. And remember he commands you to obey your mom and your dad.
God watches. There really is a God. Really. He is right here, right now watching all of us too. He even knows what you're thinking right now. He's ashamed of you when you sin. And, of course, he's proud of you when you resist temptation to sin.
How do you suppose God feels when he sees you in Sunday school class being mean and unkind to another classmate just to get a chair. How foolish. You end up with a chair, but your classmate ends up with God's care. Your classmate loses that chair, but gains a lot more from God. And it's the same whether it's a classmate, or whether it's your brother or your sister, or your mom or dad.
Now, what do you suppose will happen the next time God throws out some bread? Will he throw it in your direction? Or will He throw it in the direction of the classmate? You figure that one out. But if the verse in Luke is right, your classmate will receive a lot more than you will from God.
Don't you think God gives a lot more to the kids who don't pick on other kids? Don't you think God gives a lot more to the kids who say, yes sir, and no sir?
Now, you may be thinking, OK, I'll be good so that I can get more blessings from God. But you still don't have it right. God wants you to be good to others because you care about others, not because you want something for yourself. So if you really want God's blessing, you have to care about other people, and not yourself. God wants to give bread to all of us. He loves you so much that he just wants to give you all he can give you. But He can’t give you as much if you're a bully, or cheater, or liar, or a thief.
There really is a God in heaven, and he really means what he says. He wants you to come to heaven when you die.
He wants you in heaven so much, that he let his son Jesus die on a cross to pay for your sins, so you could go to Heaven. But he can't let you into heaven, unless you choose to accept Jesus as your savior. Today would be the best time to make all of these changes. First, ask Jesus to forgive you for your bad behavior and ask Him to save you and come live in your heart to help you do better. Because if Jesus is in your heart you will also go to Heaven some day when you die.