Faith like a child

So yeah, i haven't posted in ages.... and i'm gonna try and start blogging again but i can't promise anything. Life has been and will continue to be crazy with college and school. However, with two massive snowstorms in less than a week resulting in no school the past two days and off tomorrow for in-service I'm pretty bored and had an idea of something to write about. Today I was outside playing in the snow, making snowmen, having snowball fights, and of course sledding. It was a lot of fun and reminded me of my childhood when snow was awesome not because we could get out from school but because it was so much fun to play in. This reminded me of a verse, Matthew 18.3. Thats right, for those of you who know the bible well this is the faith like a child verse.

Then he said, "I assure you, unless you turn from your sins and become as little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Now what did God(Jesus) mean by this? Well the first part is simple, turn from your sins, always a good thing to do. The become as little children is a little more difficult. i see two possible explanations that are similar but have slightly different meanings. The first is that He wants us to have the faith of children. If you've ever talked to a child you know what this faith is. Anything someone they respect tells them must be true. They full heartedly believe what it is that they are told is true. Warning if you have younger children make sure they aren't reading anymore.

Take Santa for example. We tell children that he flies around the world delivering presents to every good boy and girl and they believe it until they are told otherwise by someone they respect just as much as the person who first told them. This is a great example of unquestioning belief that Jesus could be talking about. However I don't feel as if this fits really well. Two mentors of mine have actually encouraged questioning your faith. They say that this makes it your own and strengthens your faith so that even in the bad times you'll still have it. I happen to agree with both of these people, and though i can't think of any verses backing this up I feel that God feels the same way.

The only other explanation I can come up with then is that God intends for us to love him like a child. (yeah, here I go again about the love thing). Working with three year olds every other Sunday morning gives me a first hand look at the love of a child. The kids always want to talk about their parents, and how great they are, and when their parents come to pick them up they leap up and run to them because they can't wait to tell them about their day. I think that this is what Jesus means with his child analogy. He wants us to love him like children love their parents. He wants us to talk about him to everyone. He wants us to run towards him. He wants us to yell when we realize hes always with us. I believe that this is the love that God envisions us having for him, and in turn i believe that this is the love that he has for us (well he's the parent who loves his child).

Anyway, as you could probably tell i'm just as unorganized as ever. Anyway, here's to hoping that I keep on posting this time, even if the odds are against me.

btw, everyone should check out the Live. Loud. album from the Jordan Howerton Band. It quite literally is just as good as, if not better than, the albums that brewster, tomlin, and crowder put out.

Until next time,

live like a child