Helpless! Not in control of anything … the virus devastating our country and the world, political discord abounding, our economy in jeopardy, even our daily life changing every day. The good news is that our adult lives in this crisis world was never meant to be lived on our own. We have a Father with whom we can be needy and vulnerable so that we can face what is before us. So join me as we revisit what is means to be …
Read MoreHelpless! Not in control of anything … the virus devastating our country and the world, our economy drastically in jeopardy, even our daily life changing every day. The good news is that our adult lives in this crisis world was never meant to be lived on our own. We have a Father with whom we can be needy and vulnerable so that we can face what is before us. So join me as we revisit what is means to be …
Read More... God has made everything beautiful for its own time.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT
During a recent visit with our lovely daughter and family, I was walking on "my path" on the Dover Air Force Base.
I love my path! There are walkers and their dogs, playing children and military "manifestations" (like signs written in military rather than civilian time), and best of all, safety and well-cared for walking areas. But for as many times as I have walked my path, I wasn't prepared for the delightful, though shocking, surprise on the day in question.
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The most basic of human relationships is that of parent and child. The Parent-child metaphor is perhaps the most tender picture of our relationship with God as believers. This is so movingly expressed in the Scriptures by the Hebrew term for Father God “Abba,” meaning “Daddy.”
How appropriate then (as we go into the months celebrating mothers, fathers, and children) to take a break from the blog-type format.
Let’s do a little digging into the Scriptures. (You may like to do this for your own devotions or as a small group study.)
Warm-up Questions: 1. Read Children Incognito.
2. What are some characteristics of a child? Do you ever feel that way inside?
3. Can you identify with the key thought? How? “We are all just little children locked up in adult bodies, trying to live adult lives in an adult world.”
4. What do you think about the proposed solution? “The only way we can live an adult life in an adult world is by living as a ‘child’ in relationship with our Father.”
Jesus’ attitude toward children:
Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them: for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Mark 10:14
Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me. Matthew 18:3-5
Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me. Mark 9:37
Jesus Himself called His disciples “little children”. Look at the following with a smile:
How would you summarize Jesus’ attitude toward children?
Jesus, God’s Perfect Child: How did Jesus live as a Child? What can we learn by looking at His relationship with His Abba and our relationship with Him? Look at the following Scriptures to answer these questions:
1. Jesus lived secure in the Father’s love.
Because of the Indwelling Christ (Col 1:27), I can live as Abba’s child, secure in my Father’s love. I can love and be loved in return.
Brennan Manning in his wonderful book, The Rabbi’s Heartbeat, says,
Define yourself as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is an illusion. (p.40)
We may do foolish, even downright sinful things, yet as Steve Brown likes to say,
But God is still fond of me.
Can you say the same? Do you know the unconditional love of the Father despite your brokenness? If not, ask the Lord to enable you to experience His love which is greater than life itself.
That leads us into the next point…
2. Jesus lived from His identity as the Son of His Father.
Jesus has been called the “Human Face of God”. He bears the family resemblance. His identity was as the only-begotten Son of His Father. Jesus never lived separate from His Abba.
Because I’m in Christ (1Cor 1:30), I can live as Abba’s child, finding my identity in being the beloved child of the Father. I become like Him as I by faith yield to Him and focus on Him.
The realization that the Father has placed me in Christ His Son and that He, the Perfect Child of the Father, lives in me enables me to live day by day in union with the Father and the Son.
3. Jesus lived with trust and submission to His Father even in the midst of difficult circumstances.
As Abba’s child I can trust my Father in every circumstance, no matter how mundane or dark. I can trust in His presence, provision, and purpose.
Application Questions:
1. What keeps you from living as a “child” in relationship with your Abba?
2. What might change if you began living as a child with your Abba, rather than trying to live as an adult on your own?
Brennan Manning states that
The positive qualities of a child—openness, playfulness, simplicity, sensitivity to feelings—restrain us from closing ourselves off to new ideas, surprises of the Spirit, and risky opportunities for growth.
3. Spend some time with the previous questions…and with your Abba. Ask Him to enable you to walk with Him as His beloved, vulnerable child today.
Suggested reading: Gospel of John — look at the relationship between the Father & Jesus the Son Return of the Prodigal by Henri J.M. Nouwen Abba’s Child by Brennan Manning The Rabbi’s Heartbeat by Brennan Manning
[first posted May 2011]
Janet Renner Loyd has been a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ most of her life. Her formal education includes a degree in education from the University of Arizona and also a degree in Bible & Theology from Moody Bible Institute. For more than thirty years, she has been involved in teaching and leading women’s Bible studies, retreats, and meetings…most notably Precept upon Precept and various studies that she has personally developed. Professionally, Jan recently retired from teaching language and writing to GED and adult ESOL students.
About her life, Jan says, “The most important thing about me is my relationship with my Father God through my Lord Jesus Christ. I am forever grateful to Him for His love, mercy, and grace to me and my family and friends...and the world.”
Jan has been happily married to John Loyd for more than forty years. They have two adult, married children and five lively young grandsons.
