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"... they trust first."

 

A thought by Michael Todd, from his book, Crazy Faith. (p. 29). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

Now that is what we need to do, isn't it?

Michael says, "At the beginning of Matthew 18, the disciples come to Jesus and ask, 'Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?' (verse 1). If I were Jesus, I would have replied, 'Are you serious? Why do you even need to know that?' Aren’t you glad Jesus is always so patient with us when we’re insecure and trying to compete with each other instead of simply having faith that God has a great plan for each one of us?"


He continues, "Jesus begins His response to His disciples’ question by pointing to a little child—not an astute, wise, experienced, or prolific adult but a baby. 'I tell you the truth,' He says, 'unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven' (verse 3). He continues with His teaching moment: the only way to become the greatest in the kingdom is to become as humble as a little kid (verse 4). He is trying to get these grown-up, religious men with little faith to understand this about children: they trust first. They are born with baby faith and act on it regularly. They believe what adults tell them because they have no past experiences that fuel their fears. There are no conditions on their trust."

He goes on, "This is how God wants us to trust in Him and His plans for us.

"When my children are hungry, they don’t ask how much money is in the bank account or whether we have time to feed them. They trust that, as parental providers, Natalie and I have already prepared something for them to eat. They don’t fear that they won’t have a place to sleep tonight. They trust their parents to take care of that. I have resolved to be a loving, active father, so I make sure my children are taken care of. If they need or want anything, they are not afraid to ask me for it."

He then says, "Do you have that kind of faith in your heavenly Father?"

And that is a very good question and a very good thing to do, isn't it? Yes, yes! #continuethought




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