Our devotion below was in the Connection newspaper this week:
Do You Trust Your Daddy?
Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Mark 10:14b
Do you trust your Daddy? I am not talking about your natural daddy. I am talking about your spiritual Daddy, your Heavenly Father. Most people trust God for salvation, but they want to hold on to other areas of their lives such as where they work, where they live, who they marry, what they do outside of work, etc. They want to be in control of their own life. This is not what God asks of us. This is also not what we, as earthly parents/guardians, ask of our children. If you do not have children, think back to when you were a child and what a normal day was like. “Do I have to get up?” “Yes.” “I do not want to go to school today.” “You have to go to school today.” “Do I have to take a bath?” “Yes.” “Do I have to brush my teeth?” “Yes” “Can I pack candy bars for my lunch?” “No, I have packed you a sandwich, some fruit and vegetables.” “I don’t want to wear a jacket.” “It is 30 degrees outside, you need a jacket.” “Can I watch Killer Kids when I get home from school?” “No!” So on and so forth. What would happen if a child was left on their own with no direction from a parent? In most cases, they would eat junk food, never brush their teeth, never bathe, never go to school, not dress appropriately for the weather, watch and listen to things not fit for children (or adults). This behavior would cause them to wind up overweight or unhealthy, possibly with a mouthful of cavities, uneducated, sick, have a lack of respect for authority, think and speak things that no one should be thinking or speaking. This is why God tells us in Proverbs 29:15b, “A child left to himself brings shame to his mother.” We are not to leave our kids to themselves, or let the television babysit our children! This will end up teaching our children things that God has already warned would bring shame to us as parents. This is why God is always there for us as our Heavenly Father. However, most people do not want to submit to him as a child would to their parents. This is where the church gets the saying that we need to have child-like faith and trust our Heavenly Father.
When Jesus’ disciples were discussing who was the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus brought in a little child to teach them a lesson. He told the disciples in Matthew 18:3-4, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” This similar teaching can also be found in the other Gospels. Jesus said in Luke 18:17, “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.” So we can receive Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God, but not receive him as a child would. This gives us the right to become a child of God. It does not make us a child of God. And if we do not become as a child, we will not enter the kingdom of Heaven! We all need to get to the point in our walks with God where we submit to him as we did or should have done to our parent/parents/guardian when we were children. That we just trust that God knows what is best for us. This is ultimately walking by faith and Hebrews 11:6a says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” So, if we are not trusting God, we are not pleasing Him. Even more so, if we are not as children, Jesus said we will not enter the kingdom of Heaven. You may say, “I am a grown man or woman. I am not a child.” If you want to walk with God, you need to become a child again. 1 John 3:1a says, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” Even if you say, I am not a child. I am not going to be a child of God. God still says you are a child, but you are a child of the devil. Jesus told the pharisees this in John 8:44. Then 1 John 3:10 says, “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” So, the question is, “Who is your Daddy?” Make the choice today to be a child of God by reading and obeying His Word. Tell God that you will trust Him in every area of your life, even the ones that you have been holding onto. When your earthly parents/guardians told you to do things, they may not have made sense to you at the time. But looking back, you can see the wisdom in all the direction that parents give. The same is true with God. It may not make sense why He is asking you to stop doing this, give up that, forgive this person, love the person who just wronged you, read the Bible every day, memorize a scripture a week, attend a good church, etc. But I guarantee you, if you decide to do those things and trust God in every area of your life, you will look back one day and say, “I should have trusted Him sooner, God knew what He was doing!”