St. Matther 18:1-7 It was at this time that the disciples came to Jesus with the question, "Who is really greatest in the kingdom of Heaven?" Jesus called a little child to his side and set him on his feet in the middle of them all. "Believe me," he said, "unless you change your whole outlook and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven. It is the man who can be as humble as this little child who is greatest in the kingdom of Heaven. "Anyone who welcomes one child like this for my sake is welcoming me. But if anyone leads astray one of these little children who believe in me he would be better off thrown into the depths of the sea with a mill-stone hung around his neck! Alas for the world with its pitfalls! In the nature of things there must be pitfalls, yet alas for the man who is responsible for them!".
We struggle in this life, but we do it unnecessarily. Jesus would have us as trusting little children who believe what their Father tells them. They love their Father and understand that no evil would come from Him. Yet we posture and preen over what we know and we lose our innocence in pride and self-importance. I have 7 grandchildren, and I am doing my best to teach them about God every time they are here with me. They know that Grandma loves them and would never tell them an untruth about anything. They listen, they learn, they are like little sponges that soak up every word they hear about love, and peace, and the Love of God. They need to know that there is someone much stronger than we could ever be who is responsible for keeping their world spinning, their needs met, and their futures secure. I guess I am a lot like a little child in the way I see my own Heavenly Father. I feel like I can tell Him anything and He will listen and respond with love. In my own home, when I was a child, I was treated with love and care at first. Then later on, my parents lost their way and began fighting with each other about money and every other thing you could think of. My secure view of the world changed and I became anxious, and fearful that one of them would leave us. They threatened to all the time. But I survived it even though I didn't think I would. Later on in my life, when I was around 18, I found the truth and that truth led me to leave my home and begin my journey in life. I decided I'd rather have Jesus as my parent, because He had promised to never leave me nor forsake me. The Bible says, that if your parents desert you, and mine for all accounts and purposes did, that then He would take me up, or, become my parent. He taught me a lot of things, but the greatest thing He ever taught me was that God is love and that He loves me. I decided I'd follow Him wherever He led me.
As a result, I was led through a winding course that led me to many people with needs. I made friends with a lot of people, gave what I could give, kept a positive outlook although I had many problems emotionally, and I was eventually led to a place where I met my husband. He came to work in our office one day and I thought he was a computer repair person or something like that. I would have never guessed that we would ever talk about anything, much less date and get to know one another. But God had great plans for me, and even though I was 28, and thought that I was too old for marriage and children and the life I had always wanted, He had great plans for me, and the thing that had been in my heart forever became reality. We talked, we got to know one another, we dated, we fell in love, and were engaged in July of the year we met. We were married on my 29th birthday, Christmas Eve, and a year later I gave birth to my 2 sons! God was in control of my life, and He still is. 36 years of marriage to the same man, a secure home of our own, a wonderful daughter who helps me keep a handle on the things we need to do to keep our home running smoothly, and our sons who have given us 7 grandchildren. Sounds like a fairy tale doesn't it! But it all is real, and so is the Love of God.
How often God would hold us. He would pick us up from our tumbles and brush off the dirt, and mend the wounds, and heal us from top to bottom! But we don't trust Him enough to let Him do that. We think we know so much. We are puffed up and arrogant when it comes to our "experience". It's laughable. The Bible says that "...mans wisdom is foolishness to God", but He still loves us. We struggle all our lives, but we don't need to. If we truly trusted as a little child, we would find the love we so desperately need in our lives. It is so simple. Three little words tell us all we need to really know, "God is Love". He sent His only son, His perfect son, His heart, to earth to be our sacrifice. The debt has already been paid. All we have to do is trust Him. Get to know Him, and serve Him by living and trusting in Him. We witness to others, we handle our affairs with honor and sincerity, we love our families and our enemies, and we are kind to little ones and nurture them and teach them and lead them. So simple. Folks in my past thought me simple too. Stupid is the word. But nothing could be further from the truth. I simply trust God and He takes care of me. I don't need to brag about all I "know", and all I can do. I just need to live and pass on the truth's I have come to know. That is my purpose, as well as being a wife, a mom and a grammy, to tell the story of God's love for me, and for all who will come.
Do you need a friend like that? He's waiting to do the same for you. All you have to do is ask Him. Come into my life God, help me to get to know you, and please help me with my problems and my life. I need you. So simple. Come Lord Jesus, come into my life and show me your power and your love. Change me. We have to be willing to change, to become as little children, to simply trust in Him who gave His own perfect life for us, and the world would be a different place. Do you think the world needs a new face? A little help? Ask the man in charge to change you. It all begins with you. Be that little child...dare to trust him...and He will change your life and through you, He can change many things, even the state of the world. It all begins with a prayer of surrender and a committment to live a new life, a clean and wholesome life, one established in the word of God and a forthright nature. Come today to the throne of grace, and believe. You are the catalyst. Accept God's Grace and Love, be as that little child, and trust Him who loves you!
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