All HIS Little Children
The Lord didn’t leave the ultimate destiny of His little children in the hands of their families or society. This isn’t suggesting that some parents might not be equipped or even wise enough to watch out for the eternal wellbeing of their beloved offspring, it’s simply the Lord, knowing all too well our spiritual shortfalls, leaving nothing to chance for the innocents. In Matthew 19:14 Jesus wasn’t just telling his disciples to back off rebuking people for bringing their children to Him, he was telling the whole world “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these”. There are no conditions for the children in His statement, which is often how God works in our lives in many areas of critical importance.
For little children, the door to the kingdom of heaven is wide open. For the rest of us, the conditions of passage are intentionally more complex. Free will presupposes reasoning capabilities and it takes years for children to develop those skills. Once developed, we each have many choices to make and after those decisions are made, our follow through evidences our commitment to those choices or our willingness to admit our mistakes. Throughout my career, I used a management approach which seemed similar to God’s and told my experienced employees; “we expect you to make the best decisions possible. Here are your choices, 1) you can make decisions on your own, If they’re good you’ll receive the benefits but if they reflect poor judgement, you’ll shoulder the blame and burdens alone. Or your other choice; 2) you can consult with me and if you accept my guidance, and it works out, you’ll still receive the full benefits, but if it doesn’t work out, I’ll take full responsibility.”
Initially they all brought me endless questions, but over time, when they understood my reasoning and the ground rules, they began to make more and more decisions based on what they believed made the most sense. I believe that’s similar to how God has chosen to “manage” many of us. The problem is ours, not His. We’re too full of ourselves to ask God what we should do with our lives and somewhat fearful that if we ask, we won’t like His answers. Know this, God always has our long term best interests in His thoughts. He knows all the variables. Trust Him and lean on Him if you want to exercise the “right to become (His) Children,” John 1:12, so that He also holds the doors to the kingdom of heaven open for you. God did a miraculous job with the universe, imagine what he can do with each of us if we regularly ask for His counsel.
JC CALKINS with COMMON SENSE 4 UNCOMMON PEOPLE.
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