Adult Children

Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it (Mark 10:15 NIV).

Children are well aware of their dependency and are comfortable with it—as long as the adults in their lives are reasonable and caring. We adults are not so different. Life is less perplexing and overwhelming when we have a wiser, more capable Person to depend on.

"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7 NIV).

Children love to be mommy’s or daddy’s little helpers. Adults, too, are highly motivated to work well when they are working for someone they esteem and emulate. And we all are working for such a Person, regardless of who our earthly supervisors or clients are.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters (Col. 3:23 NIV).

I believe I will take a good look at children this week. The closer I get to being an adult child, the better I will relate to my King.

Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it (Mark 10:15 NIV).

A Quick Fix or The Real Deal?

Do you know anyone who is angry with God? Disillusioned with him because he didn’t answer their prayers? My heart sinks when I meet such a person because it’s such a tough situation to be in—with no guarantees of a satisfactory outcome unless the person is willing to look beyond their confusion and disappointment and check out God’s view of the situation.

The best way I can explain what I mean is with this illustration:

Image: http://www.freeimages.co.uk/

A man takes his car to his mechanic and asks him to change the brake pads. An hour later, the mechanic calls him back and says that his brake pads are fine, but he needs . . . . The owner of the car angrily asks him what he was doing poking around in his car instead of doing what he asked him to do. Then he demands that he install new brake pads.

The story could end in one of two ways. The mechanic could politely refuse, saying that’s not what the car needed. The owner would then complain to everyone at his office that the mechanic had the nerve to refuse to work on his car.

Or, the mechanic could have gone ahead and installed brake pads. When the owner drove off in his car and experienced the same problems, he would call the mechanic up, accusing him of putting in defective pads. When the mechanic said they were perfectly fine brake pads but they weren’t what the car needed, the owner could petulantly say that he wasn’t much of a mechanic if he couldn’t give him what he wanted and make it work for him.

How about it? Will we be angry when he doesn’t go along with our desire for a quick fix? Or—when our ways fail—will we get back on the road with him and see where he leads us?

There is a way that appears to be right,
but in the end it leads to death (Prov. 14:12 NIV).
 
The path of the righteous is like the morning sun,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day (Prov. 4:18 NIV).

Freedom

How do you see freedom? Several days ago I saw two images that represented different conceptions of freedom:

A marsh has total freedom. It spreads out, going wherever it desires. But it’s shallow and sluggish. It represents freedom from restraint and freedom to chill and relax.

A river follows a course laid out for it by its banks. But, oh, how it leaps and roars and sings! It represents freedom from distractions—freedom to focus and go somewhere.

To my surprise, these thoughts turned into a poem, which I believe I'll send somewhere. (Maybe it will be published. I’ll let you know.)

In the meantime, what are your pictures for freedom?