Dear Sister, I would not be who I am today without knowing Jesus. Any good quality that I possess comes from my relationship with him. I can see the parts of me that are still in need of his shaping and forming. The following scripture has been shaping and forming my mind and hopefully my heart as well. "At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." Matthew 18: 1-8 I have been thinking about the attributes of a little child to help me understand what Jesus could mean by this. What comes to the forefront of my mind is that a child is humble. A child has no status and is dependent on their parents for all things. There isn't a way for a child to go out in the world and live on his own and provide. The child must stay close to his/her parents, trust them, be obedient to them, and be nurtured by them. Why would Christ Jesus want us to take the lowly position of a child? It is human nature to want to elevate ourselves. We want to be noticed by others and well thought of. If not well thought of, we at least we want the respect and admiration of others. But that is placing our value of ourselves in what other people see and think of us. Our real value is what God sees. In James 4:6 we are told that "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble." It is not our place to exhault ourself and if we do we are opposed by God. He is the one to be exalted not ourselves. Like a child, when we humble ourselves before God, when trust and rely on him. This very trust and reliance is what we need to please him. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews11:6. We come to God through faith in Jesus Christ. When we trust in Jesus to forgive us of our sin we become the children of God. Just like children, we are to live in obedience to our Father who is God. God's ways are not burdensome (I John 5:3). Obedience to God is the way we show our love for him. (I John 5:3). A child stays close to his parents for protection and nurture. A good and loving parent watches for danger and keeps his child from it. The good parent also feeds and clothes his child. God does this also for us through his Word. We stay close to God by reading the Bible. There we are warned of dangers and thus receive God's protection. We are also nourished by what we receive as spiritual food in the Word of God. We are dependent on God for all things, just as a child is dependent on his/her parents for all things. Our trust must be wholly on the Holy One. We cannot enter the kingdom of heaven without trusting in Christ. A child is one who puts his trust in his/her parents, and they are in their trust. There is a relationship there that is mutual. We as well are to have a mutual relationship with Jesus, by trusting in his way to the Father and eternal life. He is the way! And we are to be like children to enter in. There is now other way to start life but as a child. You enter the physical world as a child and much the same you must be born into the spiritual world as a child. This is exactly how I want to begin this blog of devotions. I want it to be birthed from the foundational point of begining a life with Christ and how it all starts. Jesus paid the price for your sin. Sin is paid by death. (Romans 6:23) His death paid the price for your sins. Putting your faith in Jesus and his payment frees you to live and not have to pay your sin debit. This is what it means to be born again into eternal life. Enter in as a child, a child of the living God.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorI'm a woman who has the spirit of the teenage girl I once was and that is why I love life, people, and being silly and laughing. I can be mature and grown-up, but it isn't my default setting, more like life's program. The color of my spirit is Hot Pink, and the color of my soul is Teal. Dark chocolate is a health food and I believe there is food for the body and then there is food for the soul. Eat responsibly and enjoy the treats. These devotions are from the heart and meant to help me think and share. I hope that these devotions will be a health food to your soul as well. Archives
August 2024
Categories |
Proudly powered by Weebly