Like children?

Matthew 18:3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

This verse is one of those that I overlook. I'm not particularly good with little children. It's nice that Jesus is. Because I'm not, I don't tend to look at becoming like little children a good thing. But, since Jesus says that " unless you change and become like little children", I better pay attention.

Let me look at it this way so I understand: What are the attributes of little children?

1) They ask a LOT of questions. I love (and am great with) my toddler grandson. He constantly asks "huh?" - he can't ask WHY yet. You ask him a question and he answers with "huh?" about as often as he answers the question. So, maybe we should ask a lot of questions, examine scripture to get the whole story as presented there, question "authorities" to keep them accountable and to see if they are walking the right walk, and talking the right (Biblical) talk. - Ok, that's one good attribute that I need. Ask a lot of questions.

2) They come running to a parent when hurt or scared. No one else will quite do. They want mom or dad.....now. Ok, that's another wonderful attribute that I need. As soon as I'm hurt or scared, I need to run to Jesus. (which reminds me of a wonderful song that I wish I could sing - click run to Jesus to hear it ) I need to come to Jesus first, not as a last resort as is often what I do.

3) They accept what they are told as truth. This one goes hand in hand with ask a lot of questions. When God makes a promise, or provides an answer, we need to accept that based on our past experience with God (not on experience with people, but with God), it is the truth, a fact, and is dependable and accurate. We can accept what God tells us.

4) They want to be with their parents. My grandson loves me! There is no doubt, but he wants his parents! We should want, prefer to all others and accept no substitutes, God our Father.

5) Little children fall asleep in our arms, completely at rest in complete trust, as relaxed as is possible and they rest in peace comfortably in loving arms. What a mental picture.....asleep in the loving arms of God, resting my head against His chest, with His arms wrapped around me.

6) Little children look for opportunities to learn. They pick up sticks, rocks, wiggly things. They taste, smell, touch, all with the expectation of learning something new. When we pick up our Bible, do we have that expectation? When we attend a worship service or a mission trip, do we expect to learn something new? Why not? Do we already know everything there is to know about God? We need to come expecting new knowledge, about God, about our understanding of Him, about ourselves, about our mission, about God's plan for us individually and as a group.

7) Little children have fun; no matter what they are doing, they find a way for it to be fun. Little children laugh a lot. Deep bottom of the stomach laughs, over silly things. And they aren't afraid to act silly! Ever watched a little one dance?!? It is GREAT fun!

8) Little children are honest. They will tell you what they think, not what you want to hear. (They might be able to be less harsh sometimes though.) We can and should do that with God. we should be brutally honest with God. After all, He already knows what we are thinking! Might as well be honest about it.

9) My grandson gets immeasurable joy from throwing things in the trash for me and is quite upset if he isn't given the opportunity to "help" me fill the dog's water dish and food bowl! Oh, to look at service that way.....with immeasurable joy and helping no matter what it is!!!!

Well, that list didn't take long. I'm pretty sure that I could come up with more since this list came so quickly. They say when you brain storm, think of all you can, then when you can't think of any more, try to come up with 5 more things - to make you think outside the box. I won't take that much time for this blog post. This concept of becoming like little children has a lot of advantages, doesn't it? Of course, it does. Jesus told us to do it so it has to be good advice!

Dear Jesus, help me to change and become like a little child so that I can worship, adore and act in ways that bring You joy! Amen.

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