Luke
18:17
Receiving
the kingdom of God is not a verbal expression, but an act that requires a total
submission and openness of one’s heart… The words recorded in today’s focus
verse shine light on the fact that we must have the mindset and attitude of a
child when it comes to the kingdom of God… A child is very gullible (innocent,
trusting) and accepting in their early years; having this mindset allows them
in their youth to believe any and everything that they are told by their
parents… Santa is real because of words spoken, the tooth fairy exist because
they are taught of his being and fear is eased when a parent says everything
is okay… In Christ, when we have this mindset we trust and hang on
every word of God… We can stand in the midst of adversity and smile because we
remember what our father told us and we declare it to be true… When the enemy
seem so to be on the attack, having the mind of a child says you will not
win and joy comes in the morning… Even when faced with trials and
tribulations and obstacles that appear to be too steep to overcome; having a
child’s mindset allows you to rely on our heavenly father will not only provide
the source of comfort and the ability to withstand the situation that you are
faced with and speak into the atmosphere that this too shall pass… This
is why we are reminded today that the kingdom of God can only be entered when
you have this mindset… When you lose sight of thinking like a child in the
aspects of your spiritual life you then allow that crevice of opportunity for
the enemy to slip in and get you to start thinking according to your own
desires… A child can be formed and molded for a specific task or purpose;
however, we all have heard the saying, you can’t teach an old dog new
tricks… You have to be able to be molded to reach the levels that God has
designed you to reach, you have to have the mindset to think outside of the
proverbial box and display your faith which means that you don’t have to know
everything that is going on… Jesus is referring to a told reformation that must
take place in ones life and it starts in the mind… If you can’t break yourself
to believe what you Eternal Father is telling you, how do you expect to reach
and enter the gates of heaven…? This is the question that we all must answer
and it’s the same question that we all have trouble answering… Your faith and relationship
with God is shown by how you accepting you are of His ways, will and plans… The
problems that we face in this life are not because we are ill equipped, but
because we are set in our ways even when it comes to serving a God who says
that “His ways are not our ways…” This isn’t even about compromising with
God, but about transforming your way of thinking like Paul said in his letter
to the church of Rome… Luke makes a declaration to us today that is worthy of
interpretation… He says that whosever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a
child shall not enter in… When one reads this verse, we need to begin to
examine the mindset and characteristics that children carry… This examination
will give us the tools that we are to possess as a child of God! Many people
declare that “a leopard can’t change his spots;” however, in Christ all things
are possible and this is how we must think… If we believe that Christ can do
anything but fail, if we trust that His ways are perfect, then our lives to
should full of fear (awe, reverence and respect) for Him which will also lead
us down the path of obedience… Thinking that we must know everything,
believing that we must take on all different kinds of projects and handle every
situation is the exact which Luke is telling us that we must avoid. We
cannot become set in our ways, nor become defiant with the word of God and
expect blessings to flow; we cannot try and mold God into our lifestyles and
expect to receive his glory and mercy into our lives… We need the mindset of a
little child! Notice Luke says a
little child, because we must understand that the older we become the more
defiant we are… A little child is only focused and exposed to the Love of his
or her parents. When children are little and a stranger picks them up, often
times they immediately look for there parents and if they don’t find them, they
will begin to cry. This study goes hand and hand with our Christian lifestyle…
The devil (a stranger) will come and try to pick us up (bring us away from God’s
will and love) and we must seek our parents and cry out instead of accepting
whatever comes our way… When a child cries, there parents will always hear
them, Jesus cried out several times on the cross because he never knew sin, it
was a stranger to him and he looked his father… A little child is full of
energy and can find excitement even in turmoil… A child can be popped or
spanked and will cry, but in a matter of moments can be laughing and enjoying
the moment. We must understand that often times we will under hardships, we
will go through turmoil, but we must maintain our excitement, we must maintain
our joy knowing that God’s love is still there, that no weapon formed shall
prosper and understanding that he will never forsake us. The child cries
from pain, but never loses the respect or love of their parents. God’s love is
always being bestowed upon you, so keep your faith, and run this course in your
life with vigor and joy knowing that you are a child of God. People may
think that you are naive when you have total submission and fear of the Lord;
however, as we are reminded today in the gospel of Luke, those same people will
wish they had your mindset when they see you exalted and given the keys to your
mansion on the other side of the Jordan River…
BE BLESSED!!!
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