Discovery or Rediscovery?
“Unless you change and become like children,
you will never understand the kingdom of God.”
--From Matthew’s gospel (18:3)
Trying to find God can be a major challenge. Trying to believe in divine presence and power can be most difficult, especially when the wounds of life are so strong and overpowering. Going back to those formative years when a complex world didn’t seem so intimidating can help. Macrina Wiederkehr (A Tree Full of Angels, page 63) shares her thoughts with us now:
“What pains me most these days is my inability to reach back into my years and touch the child I was. And yet, loving, living, stirring deep within my soul that child lives on. There are days when my adult ways turn tasteless in my mouth and the child of long ago starts pressing on my soul. On days like that I long to touch that child again and let her take me by the hand and lead me down a path that has a heart and show me all the things that I’ve stopped seeing because I’ve grown too tall.”
--Ben Keckler
06.21.10
Showing posts with label Child-like. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Child-like. Show all posts
Monday, June 21, 2010
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Daily Devotions - Thursday 12.20.07
‘Tis The Season: God with us
“The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.”
A prophetic vision of God’s peaceful realm (Isaiah 11:6)
Thursday: Children are beautiful. They believe!
We continue to journey toward a holy day for Christians. We celebrate the birth of Jesus, not because December 25 is his birthday, but because it is important to celebrate God’s incarnational presence among us. I invite you to meditate on various realities of what it means to sense that God is with us.
I received this e-mail that tells a great story about the simple faith of a child.
“It was the day after Christmas at a church in San Francisco. The pastor of the church was looking over the cradle when he noticed that the baby Jesus was missing from among the figures. Immediately he turned and went outside and saw a little boy with a red wagon, and in the wagon was the figure of the little infant, Jesus.
So he walked up to the boy and said, “Well, where did you get Him, my little friend?”
The little boy replied, “I got him from the church.”
“And why did you take him?” the pastor asked.
The boy said, “Well, about a week before Christmas I prayed to the little Lord Jesus and I told him if he would bring me a red wagon for Christmas I would give him a ride around the block in it!”
Have a blessed week of preparation for the holiday.
--Ben Keckler
12.20.07
“The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.”
A prophetic vision of God’s peaceful realm (Isaiah 11:6)
Thursday: Children are beautiful. They believe!
We continue to journey toward a holy day for Christians. We celebrate the birth of Jesus, not because December 25 is his birthday, but because it is important to celebrate God’s incarnational presence among us. I invite you to meditate on various realities of what it means to sense that God is with us.
I received this e-mail that tells a great story about the simple faith of a child.
“It was the day after Christmas at a church in San Francisco. The pastor of the church was looking over the cradle when he noticed that the baby Jesus was missing from among the figures. Immediately he turned and went outside and saw a little boy with a red wagon, and in the wagon was the figure of the little infant, Jesus.
So he walked up to the boy and said, “Well, where did you get Him, my little friend?”
The little boy replied, “I got him from the church.”
“And why did you take him?” the pastor asked.
The boy said, “Well, about a week before Christmas I prayed to the little Lord Jesus and I told him if he would bring me a red wagon for Christmas I would give him a ride around the block in it!”
Have a blessed week of preparation for the holiday.
--Ben Keckler
12.20.07
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Daily Devotions - Wednesday 12.19.07
‘Tis The Season: God with us
“The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.”
A prophetic vision of God’s peaceful realm (Isaiah 11:6)
Wednesday: Letting a Child Lead Us
We continue to journey toward a holy day for Christians. We celebrate the birth of Jesus, not because December 25 is his birthday, but because it is important to celebrate God’s incarnational presence among us. I invite you to meditate on various realities of what it means to sense that God is with us.
A friend has a sister who is married to a former major league baseball player; they live in California. They have an adopted son named Seth whose birthday is December. Here is a conversation that mom and Seth had when he was 4 years old, as mom tried to help him understand the mysterious relationship of Santa, Jesus and Christmas.
Mom: Seth, so you know why we celebrate Christmas?
Seth: Yeah, cause Santa gets me a present and then I get to open the present that Santa brung me.
Mom: But why does Santa bring gifts?
Seth: So I can open them.
Mom: No, Santa brings gifts because we are celebrating someone’s birthday; whose birthday is it?
Seth: I don’t know.
Mom: It’s someone who came from heaven and we celebrate their birthday.
Seth: OHHHH that’s ME!
I can see that while the Holy One is definitely alive in this child, mom probably feels like there’s lots of teaching to do. How about you?
--Ben Keckler
12.19.07
“The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.”
A prophetic vision of God’s peaceful realm (Isaiah 11:6)
Wednesday: Letting a Child Lead Us
We continue to journey toward a holy day for Christians. We celebrate the birth of Jesus, not because December 25 is his birthday, but because it is important to celebrate God’s incarnational presence among us. I invite you to meditate on various realities of what it means to sense that God is with us.
A friend has a sister who is married to a former major league baseball player; they live in California. They have an adopted son named Seth whose birthday is December. Here is a conversation that mom and Seth had when he was 4 years old, as mom tried to help him understand the mysterious relationship of Santa, Jesus and Christmas.
Mom: Seth, so you know why we celebrate Christmas?
Seth: Yeah, cause Santa gets me a present and then I get to open the present that Santa brung me.
Mom: But why does Santa bring gifts?
Seth: So I can open them.
Mom: No, Santa brings gifts because we are celebrating someone’s birthday; whose birthday is it?
Seth: I don’t know.
Mom: It’s someone who came from heaven and we celebrate their birthday.
Seth: OHHHH that’s ME!
I can see that while the Holy One is definitely alive in this child, mom probably feels like there’s lots of teaching to do. How about you?
--Ben Keckler
12.19.07
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