The extra-terrestrial bug

Mark 10:14-15 (NIV)

14 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. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

It has been a month since my surgery and I have had lots of time to sit with my leg up. I have spent some of my time looking through pictures on my computer. They are filled with pictures of my children when they were young. I saw the shining faces of both of my sons as interacted with their mom , genuinely happy to be with her. What I wouldn't do to travel back in time!

Amazing the things that happen when we treat our children in a loving manner. When young, they tend to look at us parents as their superheroes. They admire what we do and often show spontaneous signs of affection, like hugging us, snuggling against us while reading a book, giving what they see as tender tokens of appreciation with an excited: "Take it, it's yours!"

Young children have a passion for making us smile, and they would do anything to help us out.

Their love is shown by how much they trust us. Even when they didn't know how to swim, when coaxed into the water, they didn't hesitate to jump right into our arms.

Something strange happens, however, when they become teenagers. A virus from outer-space seemed to afflict them, changing their perception. Suddenly, we aren't looking that cool to them any longer. We become strangers to them. Now they know better than we do. In fact most of the time they are certain they know it all and we know nothing. Little by little, they become more and more estranged. No more hugs, especially not in front of their friends!

We, as adults, often act like overeager teenagers towards our Heavenly Father. I guess, we too, have been affected by that extra-terrestrial bug. We, too, think we know better. The more we persist, the more frustrated we become. Soon we find ourselves in unshakable addictions and/or nightmarish scenarios, and we blame God for what we are going through. Our trust is geared towards ourselves. After all, who else has our best interest at heart? Love becomes an unknown, and this shows in our marital relationship. Many become estranged from their spouses, always blaming the other for the problems they are undergoing.

What's worse is that when pride settles in, it is quite impossible to come near to our Heavenly Father, for we know what is best and we see Him as a tyrant, One who always seems to be going against "our" will. Who does He think He is?

He is our Father, the One who created us. He never rejected us; it was the other way around, we rejected Him and wandered away from Him to follow our own hearts. Still our Father pursued us. He didn't want us to be lost for eternity. Ultimately, Jesus, His Son, came to live with us to show us the way back home. He willingly paid the cost of our redemption by dying on a cross, and our debt was fully paid by His grace. He is not only our Father, He is also our Savior. He loves us unconditionally.

The problem is that we are so stuck in our views that we have become completely blind. We see God as our enemy, and we blame all of our evil actions to Him, concluding that He doesn't care. Is willingly dying on a cross to save us proof that He doesn't care? Would we do such a thing for our worst enemy? Let's be frank here: Who is it who doesn't care? God? Or ourselves?

The truth is that our pride has blinded us. The "I" has become our God. "I" know "I" am right. "I" know what "I" am doing. It's "my" life after all! In other words: "I" am in total control of "my" life.

May we turn back to the fascination we used to have and see our Father for whom He truly is: My Dad is my Hero! He loves me to bits and I sure love Him too!

Dear Lord, thank you for being so patient with us. Forgive us for being overactive teenagers at heart. Help us to realize who You truly are. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.