Weekly Reflections for the week of April 7, 2013
As we celebrate with our children this weekend I wanted to do something a little different with our GPS. The foundation of this week’s study is the scripture from Matthew 18:3, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Each day will reflect on one of the characteristics of childlike faith. This is an adaptation from a blog post from Tom Stuart that I found this week: http://tomstuart.org/2012/02/24/7-qualities-of-childlike-faith/
Monday: TRUSTING – Children know how to trust without hesitancy. They giggle when they are tossed into the air and plunge recklessly from high places, all because they know that they will be caught in the outstretched arms of their daddy. They are oblivious to danger and fearless in their exploration because they take for granted the sheltered bubble of their parent’s love.
Read: Genesis 6:9-22 Noah commanded to build the ark
- Noah had some serious reasons to doubt, but he remained faithful. Have you ever felt like you have had an ark sized order on your plate? How did you react?
- How are you working to trust more today?
Tuesday: TRANSPARENT – Children are not good at hiding their flaws, their wrong doing or their emotions. What you see is what you get and there is little or no guile or image management with them. They are quick to reveal what they think and what they feel, to confess what they have done and to receive what they need in terms of forgiveness and comfort.
Read: Romans 7:15-25 Struggle with sin
- Let’s just get it out in the open. We all struggle with sin. We are a mess. And Faithpoint is a great place for your mess (Real People, Real Lives, Real Faith). So what is the stuff in your life that you don’t want to do, but you keep doing it?
- How might you be more transparent today?
Wednesday: CAREFREE – Children are free to live in the present with no concern for the future. They have no worries about a bank account, the price of gas, the next doctor appointment, war in the Middle East, politics at the office or what people think. They can focus and revel in the moment because they are not entangled by the complications and distractions of this life.
Read Matthew 3:1-12 surprisingly, the one person who is a good illustration of this childlike quality is John the Baptist.
- Consider the simplicity of his life, his wilderness home and diet, his narrow focus of ministry, his unwavering message of repentance, his magnetic presence that spared him the inconvenience of traveling and his freedom from the fear of man. How does a simple carefreeness liberate us to be the people God has called us to be?
- What is holding you back from being carefree today?
Thursday: INSISTENT – As everyone knows children can be persistent. They never tire of asking questions and making requests. Like the widow with the unjust judge they think that if they are insistent enough for long enough they will get what they want. And they are right. “Can I, can I, can I . . . please, please Daddy, just this once!”
Read Mark 10:46-52 Jesus Heals Bartimaeus
- When Bartimaeus, the blind man heard Jesus was passing by he began to shout repeatedly like an insistent little child “Jesus, Son of David have mercy on me!” Though people rebuked him and tried to silence him he shouted all the more. He was so insistent that Jesus, like any badgered parent could not help but stop and address his need. And that is exactly what Jesus did. when have you had to be insistent about what you needed?
- In what ways are you insisting on changing the world around you today?
Friday: SPONTANEOUS – Children are always game for a new adventure. They are too young to be prisoners of tradition and the status quo. They do not want to put off until tomorrow what they believe can be done today. They have few if any past experiences to convince them to hold back for fear of failure or discomfort.
Read Genesis 17:1-9 Abram to Abraham
- God proposes a covenant and the word is immediately, Abram fell on the ground. There was no team or committee to see if this covenant would be good for the people. When was the last time you spontaneously followed God? How did it turn out?
- How are you willing to act immediately for God today?
Saturday: IMAGINATIVE – Children see possibilities where many may see problems. Their imagination knows no limitation. The world is their stage upon which their dramatic creations are enacted without self-consciousness. Little do they care or are they aware of what an audience might think. Creativity at its best is nurtured in a child’s world of unconditional love and acceptance that is free from critique.
Read Joshua 6:1-20 The fall of the walls of Jericho
- I don’t know how many military playbooks would include the strategy found in Joshua 6…well actually I do, none of them. But God is all about imagination and reminding us where our victory comes from.
- I am betting your imagination will not lead to a military victory where everything is slaughtered (yes, this is a tough passage of scripture), but God does call us to use our imagination. So where are you letting yours run wild for God today?
Sunday (bonus day): JOYFUL – A child’s joy is not so much based on the circumstances about them as it is in the people they love being with them.
Read Psalm 66: Make a joyful noise
- How are you bringing the joyful celebration to worship today, to work tomorrow and with you everywhere you go?