“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:1-4 ESV

I cannot force an agenda with God. He will not be convinced to do things my way or in my timing. My smooth presentation and slick marketing campaigns aren’t going to sway His opinion or make Him hop on my bandwagon. No matter how much I jump around, plead my selfish case and seek my own end, God’s desire for my heart and my life is always going to be the better option, and His decision to encourage me in one direction or to divert my attention from where I was headed is always going to be the best move.

And why? Because He has my best interests at heart in everything and in every way possible. And as His child, that what I should trust to be the case.

I have three children of my own. And they try to sell me on things from time to time, to convince me of a plan they have or to sway me to do something they’d like to do. Most of the time, it’s all a matter of timing or maybe even resources that may keep us from doing something they’d like. (Taking a family of 5 to every movie that comes out that they’d like to see would require a second mortgage on the house it seems.) And sometimes it’s a safety concern or even an issue that requires some explaining as to why an activity isn’t good for them or safe. As their parent, I have to keep their best interests at heart, and sometimes that means shutting them down on a certain path or idea, and that is done in and because of the love I have for them.

When it comes to our walk with God, we must understand that He is the parent and we are the children. We try to see and understand what it is that He wants us to do, but in comparison to His understanding, ours is very limited and finite. We must trust Him. We must trust His timing, His ways, His plan. We need to come to Him, dependent on Him, not standing apart from Him. A child needs their parent, and we most definitely need Him.

When it comes to sour daily walk with Christ, we must also live our this understanding of faith in Him and dependance on Him. We must understand that what He desires for us is from us is truly what is best for us. We should listen and obey because we know that His directions for us stem from His great love for us. And because we love Him back, we should look back at Him like a toddler with arms held high, trusting, loving, dependent on our caring, kind-hearted, Abba/Father.

He is patient with our misunderstandings, and teaches us through our stumbling. He is compassionate when we get hurt and comforts us when we are sad. He is love to us. We rest in Him when we are tired, and He is the One who provides for all our needs. He nurtures us, guides us and leads us by the hand, and we are glad to follow because we know He loves us. He disciplines us when we need it, and doesn’t give in to our petty, shallow, selfish wants. Again, that is love.

Childlike dependence is not a bad thing. Innocent faith and implicit trust in His plan are only going to encourage greater growth and a deeper love.

No matter what happens, we lean on Him and trust on Him, and in the context of His kingdom, this is right where we should want to be. Humility will guide us toward proper behavior and a heart pointed in the right direction. It will also serve as a sign to other people that we are living in a way that is different than the world around us, and within this life of loving trust, they will see something their own life lacks: a sense of being content and restful. And it is in this trust and rest and love that we can share the One who has loved us so well as to guard us and save us from the hell we were building for ourselves. In this understanding and love, we in turn GoLove and share the Good News that has brought us such joy.