My Reflections

Adults Being Child-like?

Take Up Your Cross

Prompt:
"2 And Jesus called a little child unto him,
and set him in the midst of them,

3 And said, Verily I say unto you,
Except ye be converted,
and become as little children,
ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself
as this little child,
the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
(Matthew 18:2-4, KJV)

How does an adult come to Jesus as a little child?

Answer:
I am thinking this goes along with the idea of you must be born again. Maybe it is another way Jesus was trying to explain that concept.

In verse 3, the word converted means noting anything, formerly of the type specified, that has been converted to something else. This definition is from dictionary.com. It indicates change. We cannot be converted without some kind of change.

Verse 3 also says to become like little children. Verse 4 explains it a little more and says to humble yourself like a little child. Of course, our question is how does an adult do this?

First we must understand what it means to be child-like and humble like a child. If you have ever spent time with a small child, you will notice how simply they think. They don’t overthink and complicate things. They readily believe what they are told by their parents without much question, well, unless they are in the “why?” Or “what’s that?” phase. 😂 They readily trust their parents to care for them and protect them and to know what is best. God wants us to trust him like this.

John 3:1-21
1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Back to being born again, we are originally born of the flesh in sin. We must be spiritually reborn and become as babes in Christ. In John 3:1-21, Jesus speaks with Nicodemus. This is where he talks of being born again. Verses 19-21 kind of sum it up like this. Men love darkness rather then light because their deeds are evil. Being born again means coming into the light, and turning away from darkness. By coming into the light, your evil deeds can be seen and reproved. However, when your good deeds are seen, then it is because God has done a work in you.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3
1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

1 Peter 2:1-3
1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

2 Peter 3:18 - But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen

In the above 3 references I find a little more detail. 2 Peter 3:18, says to grow. Children grow. I think it is also meaning that we grow into our relationship with Jesus. As we begin to put away the works of our flesh, lying, cheating, stealing, temper tantrums, gossiping, etc..., we begin to receive and understand more and more of the Word of God.

Isaiah 28:9-10
9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

We all learn a little at a time, and grow in Christ a little at a time. We become as children, and let God parent us like the Good Father he is. We relinquish our will to him instead of “doing what is right in our own eyes”. We do what is right from God’s point of view. We submit to his corrections and to his instructions. We drink the milk of the Word until he weens us and begins feeding us meat.we rely on him to feed us to clothe us, to protect us, and to provide all our wants and needs. Children can’t provide for themselves. Children’s identity is in their parents. Our identity is to be found in him. Parents control the belongings of their children. God controls our belongings too as we submit them over to him. We don’t do things without his permission or approval. We love, rely on, and respect him. We reverence him in fear. When we do wrong, we will be punished as a father punishes his child. I think this is what it means for an adult to become as a child unto God in the kingdom of Heaven..

FORUM

Take up Your Cross  (E) This will be a daily blog forum. #2225667 by Marvelous Friend

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Gratitude List

1. Water
2. Food
3. Shelter
4. Rest
5. Transportation
6. Heat and air conditioning
7. Clothing
8. Dishes
9. My bed
10. Quiet time
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Dear self,

We need to talk. I have noticed that you are fighting depression as of late. You are not wanting to do a lot. You are withdrawing from people. That is not healthy for you or your relationships. What can I do to motivate you and encourage you to do better? I know you are dealing with weight and health issues and some emotional baggage, but I promise God has a good plan for you and an excellent end. You are more than a conqueror and can do all things in Christ who strengthens you. Ask for God’s strength. You know he will give it to you. He takes pleasure in helping his children in their weakness. Take one day at a time. Begin each day with prayer. God will help you. You can do it! Cheer up! It is going to be ok. I love you because God loves you. I am proud of the person you are becoming. You have come a long way. Don’t you dare give up.

You can do all things in Christ,

Marvelous Friend