A childlike heart

People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. (Mark 10:13-16 NIV)

Over the last few weeks, we have looked at some of the ways in which we can allow God to be a Father to us. We can give him the things we worry about, he can take our fears and we can have an upward gaze of knowing that we are 'in Christ'. 

It is, however, in these verses that we are given the greatest key to allowing God to be a Father to us. A childlike heart. In Matthew 11, Jesus tells us that 'these things' have been hidden from the wise and learned but have been revealed to little children. That must have been very offensive to Jesus' listeners but nonetheless it is the truth. All the things Jesus is talking about have been revealed to him, meaning he must have the most childlike heart of all. 

If it was the way for him, then it is the way for us as well. 

When I look at my little grandson, Asher, I see someone who is totally dependent on his parents for his food, his bathing, his clean clothes and to be put where he needs to be. As far as he is concerned he has no independent life outside his parents, he needs them for everything. That is a childlike heart. 

For God to be a Father to us we need to let go of our pride and independence and place our lives in his hands. Like Asher, having a childlike heart means being totally dependent on our Father. We can trust him for everything that we need, we can rely on his goodness and faithfulness for us. We can believe that his love will never fail, nor will it let us go. His love for us is everlasting, it will never run out. 

Just after Jesus rebukes his disciples we read the story of the rich young ruler. He had done all the right things but was lacking one thing. Jesus doesn't actually tell him what that thing was, he merely tells him to sell everything and give it to the poor. I believe that what the young man lacked was a childlike heart. He was too consumed with his riches and his inability to trust and therefore he was unable to have that simplicity of heart and dependence which would enable him to follow. 

My prayer for you is that 2 Corinthians 6:18 would be a reality in your everyday lives. That you will experience God being a Father to YOU in every area of your life. That you would have a childlike heart which allows you be totally dependent on your Father. After all, that's how Jesus lived. 

The fourth video on this page http://www.afathertoyou.com/musicvideos.html is a song about letting go of our pride and independence and coming to Father with a childlike heart, let this soak into your heart today.

"I will be a Father to you and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty"
​(2 Corinthians 6:18 NIV)

The next Fatherheart 'A' School in the UK is in July at Cloverley Hall in Shropshire. This is an opportunity for you to experience Father's love and to know his comforting love filling your heart. All the details together with an online booking form are at http://fhmaschool.uk You are all very welcome.

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