How awesome is childhood?
I mean think about yours for a moment.
For most of us childhood was peaceful, easy, carefree when you compare
it to being an adult. (When I say
childhood I mean like 11 and under). As an adult I often find myself admiring
the joy of children and find their freedom, innocence, humor, and way of
thinking refreshing. But it wasn’t till
recently that I realized what it takes for them to be able to live that
way.
I was
discussing this with a friend at Lake Eola a few weeks ago and it was in this
conversation that God opened my eyes to this incredible AH! HA! moment of child
like faith that I have been pondering all month. After a month of pondering this I firmly
believe that the carefree life of a child is possible for me and anyone else
who is an adult Christian. I love this quote from Ravi
Zacharias, “The tragedy with growing up is not that we loose childishness
in its simplicity but that we loose childlikeness in its sublimity.”
When you are a
child life is free to be innocent, joyful, carefree because mom and dad take
care of EVERYTHING! Not one need is left
ignored, as the children are fully dependent on their parents. Children also feel safe because their parents
protect them. Children are also free to
be curious. They have a lot of questions,
as they desire to grow in wisdom of how things work around them and why things
happen. A good parent won’t be upset to
answer those questions but will have the wisdom necessary to answer them in a
way the child can understand.
These same
characteristics spill over to me as an adult walking in my Christian faith. So many times I try to take care of things on
my own and I get worried or stressed when money is tight one month. Or I put an alarm on my house cause I’m
worried about being robbed. Or I buy
extra insurance on expensive gadgets or my car cause I’m worried about them
being damaged or being stolen. And
worries about life and things just keep adding up and distracting me from fulfilling
my purpose because I'm so obsessed by them and for what reason!!? I fear
losing things that I will loose anyway when I die cause they won’t go with me
into eternity.
But the reality
of my faith is that God is my good Father and I must live like a child to
receive the inheritance He has for me (Matt 18:3) Just as everything I owned as
a child belonged to my parents, everything I own as a child of God belongs to
Him. It is necessary for me to live
fully dependent on Him so I can focus on JUST LIVING, (actually living). I can
have confidence that He is watching over me, protecting me and will provide. When I am actually living a life that is
fully dependent on God I can truly live in the peace and freedom of the call He
has placed on my life and be available to help others when needed.
But check this out! Jesus also says “whoever then humbles himself
as this child, he is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 18:4) Did you see that? People who humble themselves like a child,
fully dependent on God, curious to ask Him questions and grow in His wisdom, are
considered greater in the kingdom where we spend ETERNITY!! They trust without questioning, simply and
gladly believing His word without doubt.
And then Jesus
says, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me” (Matthew 18:5). I’m really not sure the theological context
of this verse but as I prayed this is what I believe the Spirit was revealing
to me. In all my years of sharing Jesus
with people I can honestly tell you I have much more success when I’m depending
on God fully instead of myself. When I’m
not acting all “super religious and super righteous” but just being genuine
like a child. When I’m not trying to
persuade people with my fancy words of wisdom rather instead just living a
simply, generous, carefree life in the call He has placed on it. I’m more successful in my call when I am
living fully dependent on Him.
So I end with
this, A CALL TO GENEROSITY as
a child of God. Live simply so others
might simply live. When God blesses you
however He chooses; be it with time, knowledge, finances, or material
possessions, don’t use it as an opportunity to raise your standard of living
but rather an opportunity to raise your standard of giving. Good parents teach their children to share. God is a good Father, and He blesses us as
His children because He desires for us to share with others in an attempt to
grow the Kingdom.
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