Childlike or Childish?

Jesus called a little child to him and stood the child before his followers. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you must become like little children. Otherwise, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." 

Matthew 18:2-3

Jesus tells us that we must become like little children.  Have you ever seen little children interact with each other?  Guess what?  Little children will play together because they are with other children.  No prejudice. No anger. No hate. No drama. Just playing together.  Children are also so curious about almost everything!  They are hungry to learn and know.

Have you ever heard a child talk to their Parent?  They talk about everything and hold nothing back.   

When do we decide that we need to be childish?  We are prejudiced.  We are angry. We decide to hate. And SO much drama!  And we stop learning, stop being curious simply for the sake of learning.  Jesus reminds us that we need to stop being childish and become like a child.  A child is carefree, full of joy, playful, trusting, curious.  A child trusts more. A child talks with their parents freely.

When we pray, we should be trusting and open as a child.  You see, the REAL power of prayer depends on the One who hears our open and honest prayer!  No formulas, no repetition, just open and honest talking with your Father. 

Child

God, our Father, has loved us so much that we are called children of God. And we really are His children. The reason the people in the world do not know us is that they have not known him. 

1 John 3:1 

 

 Have you ever stopped to consider just how much God loves His children?  The same God who spoke everything into creation; who created the mountains, the seas, the plants, the animals, the fish, the planets....THIS is the same God who created you, loves you and calls you by name.  THIS is the same God who loves you so much that He knows our every thought, hurt, joy, hair, breath, and life.  THIS is the same God who loves you so much that He wants to talk with us just as a child does their parent.  OUR Father is God!

What Must I Do?

Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven."

Matthew 18:3 

 

A young man approached Jesus.  It was easy to see this young man had done very well for himself and could most likely be able to buy whatever he wanted without really noticing the expense.  This young man had heard Jesus teach on the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life.  And that is exactly what he wanted.  Imagine living forever with all the wealth you could ever need!  That sounded like a wonderful business investment.  So he came to Jesus and asked, "What must I do to receive this eternal life?" Jesus told the young man that he knew the commandments, and the young man said he had kept them since he was a child.  Then Jesus said, "One thing you lack, go see all you have and give the money to the poor, then come follow me."

 

I admit, there's a part of me that still struggles with Jesus telling this guy to go and sell all he has and give the money to the poor.  I mean, if you have THAT much wealth at your disposal, just think how Jesus' ministry could have grown.  Jesus could have started His own mega-church with campuses in every town and village, He could stop this walking from place to place because He could be carried on a litter from town to town, He could wear those expensive attention-getting robes, eat the fine foods, the whole gamut.  But Jesus knew that temptation, and Jesus knew this young man was wanting something tangible he could buy or some deed so he could have eternal life AND keep all his stuff.

 

Jesus wants our willingness to become childlike in our faith, without the cynicism, without the judgmentalism, without the grudges, without the arguing, without folks vying for power.  Jesus has been the epitome of love, pure and simple, and that is what attracts people to Him.  And that is what we receive to share from Him. 

Are You Struggling?

Praise the Lord; praise God our savior!
    For each day he carries us in his arms.

Psalm 68:19 

 Believe it or not, my mind still functions fairly well at times.  For example, I can remember when my daughter was born and I got to hold her for the first time.  That was one of the most magical moments I pray will forever be in my mind.

I know there are some of us who struggle during this time of year.  And by "struggle" I mean mental anguish, physical agony, emotional turmoil, all spinning like a tornado within us and we slap on the mask of "I'm okay" in order to make it through the day without breaking.  Then when we reach a place where we can have some solitude, the tsunami of it all comes crashing through us and we feel broken, abandoned, and the emotional pain is excruciating. We believe that NO ONE can possibly understand what we are enduring (hiding) and we are sure that no one cares!

And we are wrong.  First, to all who struggle during the holidays...you are not alone!  There are others who are struggling as well and they, like you, wear the "I'm okay" mask so no one will see the truth.  Second, God cares and knows and understands.  When my daughter was an infant and cried, I got to hold her and sing to her and she would eventually doze back off (or pretend to sleep to stop me from singing anymore).  Guess what?  God holds us when we are hurting.  Not only that, but God caries our burdens along with us until we are ready to let go of them.

God loves us so much that He holds us like His child, because we are His child.  Take heart, the one who spoke all into creation loves you so much that you have been claimed as His child!  

Have You Lost Your Wonder?

And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.

Matthew 6:28-29

We take things for granted, don't we?  When was the last time you took a walk just to hear the birds or look at the things that grow?  When was the last time you picked up a seashell and really looked closely at it?  When was the last time you took time to look at the clouds and see what shapes came to mind?

My bride and I love storms.  We are fascinated by them.  Especially the ones with lightning. A few years ago, we lived in a patio home, and we would sit in our garage in our aluminum lawn chairs watching the lightning flashes and enjoying the slow rumble of the thunder and the wind.  It took us a while to figure out that it was probably not the brightest idea to sit in aluminum chairs to watch lightning, but neither of us got zapped so that's a relief.

But watch children.  They are fascinated by everything.  Their minds are like sponges, absorbing and figuring out how something makes sense.  And they observe almost everything (and usually will tell you about it when you least need that information broadcast).

For some reason, as we grow older, we either become jaded or we simply stop looking at God's creation with wonder.  I was sitting in my home office a while back watching the squirrels in our front yard.  They would scurry around picking up acorns then they would scurry off somewhere, dig a hole, drop the acorn in it, cover it back up, and then jump up and down on the spot to pack the dirt down.  It was like watching a circus routine.

On another occasion, I was on a ridealong when the officer walked into a spider web (and, I'll admit, watching this big tough cop do the "Ninja with a bee in his britches" dance was pretty funny).  Within two hours we were back at that same spot and the spider had rebuilt his web!  That fascinated me!

When we lose that childlike wonder of all that God has provided for us (to teach us, or reach us) we have lost one of His greatest gifts!

Kidding

About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Matthew 18:1-4 

One of the hobbies I have acquired over the course of my like thus far, is people watching.  You see, human behavior fascinates me.  Especially in those unguarded moments when we think no one notices.  

I was having a meeting at my Office away from the Office a while back and saw a young lady with two highly energetic toddlers come in, followed by two Soldiers (both Drill Sergeants).  The toddlers were having none of this "wait your turn" thing and insisted on dragging Mom to "look at this" and "see what I found".  I felt so sorry for her.  She kept apologizing to everyone around her for her "enthusiastic" children.

Both of the soldiers smiled patiently.  The children persisted, and Mom kept apologizing.  Just when I thought her last frayed nerve would snap, the soldiers jumped into action.  Both of these Drill Sergeants (who were accustomed to giving orders), got down in the floor with these children and let the children show them everything they found.  Not only that, but they kept the children occupied while Mom had a quiet cup of coffee probably for the first time that day.  

Made me "HOOAH" for the Drill Sergeants for their deeds, and made my heart lift to see Mom getting a MUCH needed break.  But the thing that struck me most was the children.  You see, children are always fascinated with EVERYTHING!

     *     Children aren't afraid to play together.  We are taught prejudices.

     *     Children aren't afraid to see things differently.  Look at how they color pictures.  We are taught that we have to "stay inside the lines because that's how we've always done it."

     *     Children aren't bitter and jaded.  We learn that behavior (and we can unlearn it too).

     *     Children aren't afraid to laugh and be expressive.  We are taught to hide our feelings. 

     *     Children are helpless and need someone to care for them.  

     *     Children are eager to learn.  And usually pick up on things quickly (so be careful what you say and do).

     *     Children aren't afraid to show love.

May God make us more childlike!

What Kind of Farmer Are You?

Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows, because the person who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 

Galatians 6:7-8

I have a confession to make, I do NOT enjoy gardening in the least.  If I were the only farmer left on earth, we'd starve....that's how much I do NOT enjoy gardening.  I know there are some who find it extremely relaxing to dig in the dirt, swat the gnats, mosquitoes, and whatever other annoying bugs decide to descend upon you, and I am glad for those....I applaud them.....I thank God for these people with every salad I eat!  

Here's a rule of thumb for those who like planting and all that goes with it: "If you want oranges, plant oranges; if you want weeds, do not plant anything."  While, on the surface, this is self explanatory, but if you look beyond the surface, you will see the true meaning: 

          *     Study = Good Grades

          *     Job = paycheck

          *     Teach children respect & boundaries = Respectful & Respectable Adults

          *     Teach children responsibility = responsible adults

You see, if we choose (and YES we do choose by our actions or inaction) to do nothing, should we be surprised when we have a generation who thinks everything is owed to them?

Honestly, I take umbrage with the Halo Orange advertisements that seem to encourage parents to fear their children, while it teaches the children that THEY, not their parents, are in charge.  We've seen it for years, children are smarter than parents.  Children know better than parents.  And parents are too busy, too tired, too career focused, or to apathetic to teach their children the way they should GO!

We get what we plant! And here's another consideration, it's never too late to clear your fields and replant your garden.  

  

Tough Decisions Start Early!

Teach children how they should live, 

and they will remember it all their life.

Proverbs 22:6

Did you know that our children learn their behaviors from us whether we consciously teach them or not?  Don't think so?  Look around!  How many times do we see children who seem to believe their actions have no consequences?  They do what they want, hurt who they want, disrespect, and even kill others but are not held responsible or accountable because the parents will raise a ruckus and file countless frivolous lawsuits, stage marches and protests.....instead of teaching their children that if they want respect, they must be respectful and respectable.

We have a generation of children who are having children because they have been taught that "someone else" (the taxpayers) will pay for them.  We have children with no respect because the parents are "too busy" or "too tired" or "just don't care" to teach children how to be respectable.  We have a generation of parents who want to coddle and worship their children instead of actually taking on the responsibility of teaching their children to be productive members of society.

We have parents who want someone else (school, government, church) to teach their children but never instill any discipline in them.  I admit it, I never did like being disciplined.  I have the unfortunate circumstance of attending an elementary school where my Mom was a substitute teacher.  If I got disciplined at school, my Mom knew about it BEFORE I got home.  When I got home, I got disciplined by Mom.  And guess what?  When Dad got home, I got disciplined again!  No, I didn't get a toy taken away or get grounded for an hour or sent to time out....I got DISCIPLINED!  And you know what? It didn't take me long to get the point to not do that act again.  But today, discipline is not taught or enforced or even considered, because a child acting up is never the child's responsibility to face it's always "someone else's" fault.

A child is disruptive at school and the teachers aren't allowed to discipline the child, they are expected to coddle and ignore the disruptive behavior.  Administrators are not allowed to discipline the child because the parent or parents will be up in arms with lawyers and "activists" shouting, marching and protesting (and suing).  

So when does the spiral stop?  When are we going to step up and say "ENOUGH"! When are we going to hold the parents responsible for not teaching the child and hold the child responsible for their actions?  If you truly LOVE your children as much as you claim, then teach them that they are PART of this world, not the center of the universe.  Teach them to respect themselves by respecting others!

It's not an easy job being a parent.  It's far beyond time for parents to BE parents and stop coddling and worshiping their children.  Remember, these same children who have not been taught discipline will be the people taking care of us sooner than we expect.

Treat Me Like A Child

I love the Lord because he hears my voice
    and my prayer for mercy.
Because he bends down to listen,
    I will pray as long as I have breath!

~Psalm 116:1-2

When my daughter was a toddler, she was quite the social butterfly.  She would talk with anyone and everyone as if she had known them for years.  But I noticed that her conversations would be fairly brief when she had to look up because the adult was standing over her.  But if the adult would talk to her face to face, she was in her element and the conversation would flow.  I've noticed this about people in general as well.  When there's a barrier or some obstruction, the conversation is rather formal, relatively short, and pretty much very formal.

Sadly, when we talk with God we put barriers between us as well.  We think of God as some old geezer sitting piously on His throne holding His rod of smiting ready to smite us with it.  Doesn't make for a very good conversation, does it?  But here's what I want you to understand about God, when He hears us, He comes face to face with us as a loving parent who WANTS to talk with us.  God wants us to see the love in His eyes.  God wants us to hear the caring in His voice.  God wants us to feel His protection.  God wants us to talk WITH Him, not at Him.  God created us so we can have a relationship WITH Him!