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From the archives of my newspaper columns
The Little Preacher
The Little Preacher
Our
grandson Josiah and his mom and dad were living with us for a few
months until they left for Mexico to begin a new missions work.
Josiah was about two years old and prevented any dull moments from
infiltrating our living space.
Jesus once said that if we want to be in a relationship with Him we need to be like little children. Having Josiah around turned our home into a living laboratory where I could discover what it means to be God’s child.
Watching Josiah and relating to him, I came to see that there are ways in which I should not try to be like him in terms of being God’s child. I don’t think God wants me demanding to get my own way and letting loose with a temper tantrum if I don’t. He also doesn’t want me to think that the universe revolves around me. In other words, I shouldn’t be childish in my relationship to God.
Still, there are many qualities Josiah exhibited which God would like to see in me. Some that come to mind include trust, curiosity, spontaneity, an insatiable desire to learn and to try new things, and modeling the behavior of my Heavenly Father. I need to be childlike in these ways.
Josiah was the little preacher in our midst. Every day he showed me how not to be childish and how to be childlike in my relationship to my Heavenly Father.
“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3
Jesus once said that if we want to be in a relationship with Him we need to be like little children. Having Josiah around turned our home into a living laboratory where I could discover what it means to be God’s child.
Watching Josiah and relating to him, I came to see that there are ways in which I should not try to be like him in terms of being God’s child. I don’t think God wants me demanding to get my own way and letting loose with a temper tantrum if I don’t. He also doesn’t want me to think that the universe revolves around me. In other words, I shouldn’t be childish in my relationship to God.
Still, there are many qualities Josiah exhibited which God would like to see in me. Some that come to mind include trust, curiosity, spontaneity, an insatiable desire to learn and to try new things, and modeling the behavior of my Heavenly Father. I need to be childlike in these ways.
Josiah was the little preacher in our midst. Every day he showed me how not to be childish and how to be childlike in my relationship to my Heavenly Father.
“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3