As A Child?

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 05:07:47 +0100

Hello fellow Branches!

Today's deep question is: What is it to come as a child to the Lord? Is it that if you don't come to Him when you're young, you're out of luck? Hardly. Or is it that we are to come with child-like trust and vision, bold in its simplicity? I tend to that view. But what does that mean, exactly? What is the difference between child-like and child-ish? I believe that child-like are the traits of children that are desirable, such as trust & belief, unswerving faithfulness, joy, playfulness, boldness and the like. Children also generally WANT to please Daddy... want to be like Daddy (their parent)... and totally depend on Daddy. Think about this for a moment. What does that mean to you? Throw out all your pre-concieved notions of what it was to please your earthly parent and ask yourself, based on the Word of God, what is it to want and to do those things for your heavenly Father? Abba... What is child-ish? Those are the traits of children that we are MEANT to outgrow... like self-centeredness (in children, it's innocent... in adults, it's destructive), deceptiveness (despite what people say about children being honest, and though they are at the most inopportune moments, children generally will lie to get what they want or to avoid punishment), gullibility (children will believe most of what you tell them, because they expect you are being honest with them), and the like. We are to develop traits like patience, forgiveness, discernment and such as we mature. So the trick is to grow UP without losing the child you are at heart.

Something to ponder:
What were the traits you had as a child that you lost as you grew up? What are the ones we usually have in common here in America? What traits are similar to yours for those of different nations? Which ones are different (make sure you have actually done your homework here, do not assume... you know what happens when you do that)?

Differences are not to be feared, but approached with curiosity & joy as we did when we were children. In heaven, we will not all be worshipping the same way... there will be a kaleidoscope of colors and sounds from all peoples of the earth that are born again in Christ... all worshipping and testifying of the Lord. It's probably NOT going to sound like Gregorian Chant. We all have something to bring to this body... who am I to belittle someone else in their walk? In the end, it's only you and God anyway... and there will be nothing you can say to answer for your life except... thank you Jesus.

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As A Child?