Child-Like Faith
I can remember a time when I would get frustrated with VBS Sunday. I came to church to worship and instead was met with a bunch of kids. I was there to sing songs to God and hear a message to refill my cup. How was I supposed to make it through the week without my weekly worship?
Maybe I am the only one who has had these feelings and thoughts. If so, I encourage you to keep reading. There still could be something here for you to glean.
Re-read the first paragraph. How many times do you see first person pronouns? There's a bunch!
While it seems the paragraph is intended to be about disappointment with Sunday being taken over by kids, it really isn't. It is, actually, about a selfish and self-centered perspective. A perspective that failed to understand the significance of our Sunday gatherings.
Sundays aren't for Matt to get anything from. They are intended to praise God. Not that God needs our praise. Rather His gift of mercy through the cross should drive us to be filled with awe for who He is. We sing, pray, participate in the Lord's Supper, and explore His word not for us but to become more like Him. Sunday is about surrendering and being transformed as disciples. It is about picking up our cross.
I think God gives us children as a model. I, also, think that as we grow older we become more self-centered. Our thinking surrounds our needs, our goals, our wants, our that and that. God gives us children as a source of joy. Just try not to smile at the sight of a cute kid doing kid things. Jesus knew the purity of the hearts of children. He saw them as a model for His kingdom. Matthew 19:14 says “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’”
This Sunday as we celebrate VBS Sunday, I challenge you to see Jesus in the faces of the kids. See the way they party in the presence of our Lord and Savior. Allow yourself to be transformed and embrace that child-like faith. After all, the “kingdom of heaven belongs to to such as these”
Be. Blessed and Be blessing,
Matt
Maybe I am the only one who has had these feelings and thoughts. If so, I encourage you to keep reading. There still could be something here for you to glean.
Re-read the first paragraph. How many times do you see first person pronouns? There's a bunch!
While it seems the paragraph is intended to be about disappointment with Sunday being taken over by kids, it really isn't. It is, actually, about a selfish and self-centered perspective. A perspective that failed to understand the significance of our Sunday gatherings.
Sundays aren't for Matt to get anything from. They are intended to praise God. Not that God needs our praise. Rather His gift of mercy through the cross should drive us to be filled with awe for who He is. We sing, pray, participate in the Lord's Supper, and explore His word not for us but to become more like Him. Sunday is about surrendering and being transformed as disciples. It is about picking up our cross.
I think God gives us children as a model. I, also, think that as we grow older we become more self-centered. Our thinking surrounds our needs, our goals, our wants, our that and that. God gives us children as a source of joy. Just try not to smile at the sight of a cute kid doing kid things. Jesus knew the purity of the hearts of children. He saw them as a model for His kingdom. Matthew 19:14 says “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’”
This Sunday as we celebrate VBS Sunday, I challenge you to see Jesus in the faces of the kids. See the way they party in the presence of our Lord and Savior. Allow yourself to be transformed and embrace that child-like faith. After all, the “kingdom of heaven belongs to to such as these”
Be. Blessed and Be blessing,
Matt
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