Day 150 "Some people think they are smarter than God; however, they are too ignorant to know it."

Day 150 Matthew 18:1-5 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.” While it appears in this message that Jesus is sharing is about small children, I would tend to think it actually has more to do with us being like little children. Our tendency as adults is to continue as we age to complicate our world, our beliefs, and, consequently, our actions. No longer do we simplistically approach the world around us as we did when we were children, but rather we often, I believe, become too educated or intellectual to even understand or believe in the simplicity of God. As a result, the life-changing attributes of being a sold out believer tend to get caught up and lost in the practicality of it all, thus greatly reducing our effectiveness for the kingdom. The real danger, according to this passage, is when we cause others who maintain that childlike faith to become more like us and cause offenses, all in the name of higher learning, greater understanding, or for any other reason. Jesus is telling His disciples that they, too, need to stop worrying about how they can attain a greater gift or place with God and get back to a childlike faith–one that believes simply because that is the thing to do. I, for one, am so tired of hearing people say "You need to grow up," not necessarily to me (however they do). Why do we need to grow up? Oh yes, I understand taking responsibility but we’re not talking about in the physical sense–I am speaking of the spiritual sense. Why is it that to have simplistic faith is looked upon as an undesirable thing? My theory is that people with simplistic childlike faith tend to make others around them uncomfortable or even intimidated; after all, if they make it look easy, it somewhat negates our higher learning, does it not? When my children and grandchildren began to walk, I never once caught myself chastising them for doing it wrong–they were doing the best they could. They were trying with all of their might to learn how to walk and, yes, they all learned and now walk quite well. However, now that they have learned to walk, is it time for me to show them everything wrong with their stride or do I allow them to be confident in their walk? After all, it is theirs, is it not? The same could be said for us believers. If someone has childlike faith, allow them to walk in it. If you do enjoy it and if someone has stolen it from you, take it back–it's yours, and Jesus wants you to walk in it. Daily Prayer: Father, help me to remember the simplicity of Your message. May I never become too wise to allow Your Spirit to direct me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. "Some people think they are smarter than God; however, they are too ignorant to know it." Pastor Gene Burroughs