A Matter Of Childlike Simplicity

“Today’s Devotion” For July 2, 2005

Read: Matthew 18:6-9; Luke 10:17-22

A MATTER OF CHILDLIKE SIMPLICITY

"'I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.'"(Lk.10:21)

We live in a world consumed with sophistication. Nothing is ever simple. Technology expands and advances so quickly that, if you're not right on top of it, it'll pass you by. On the social level, sophistication is measured by dress, mannerisms, places people dine, their involvement in the arts, the people they know, the places they go, and the places they're seen. Of course, while we might decry "sophistication" as being gaudy, showy, and not "real," it's also something we are tempted to be.

Jesus wanted to make certain that the disciples understood what it means to follow Him. "Delusions of grandeur" have no place in the kingdom. It's the simple, childlike trust in Jesus that's essential to life with Him. So vital in fact, that He very strongly states His case that those who would attempt to lead anyone with such a faith astray, should long to wear "cement overshoes" instead of having to face God's wrath toward them. This world is full of temptations to sin and Jesus is warning His children to avoid them. So important is this that He suggests, symbolically, that cutting off an offending body part, if it will keep us from sin, is preferable to not entering the kingdom of heaven.

We are tempted to be sophisticated believers. Yet faith in Christ is a matter of childlike simplicity. To paraphrase an old German saying I heard as a child, "You're so smart, you're dumb." Faith in Jesus doesn't require great intellectual ability or sophisticated thinking. It requires only that we acknowledge our sin, by the power of the Holy Spirit, repent of that sin with the Spirit's help, and receive, by the faith worked in us by the Word and Spirit, God's forgiveness because of Christ. Striving for a childlike, fully trusting faith in Christ is our goal in life. It's "A Matter of Childlike Simplicity."

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for revealing Your Son, Jesus Christ to me through Your Word and Spirit. Help me to trust in Him implicitly and live for Him every day of my life. Help me to live in the forgiveness of sins You have given me by faith in Jesus, and help me to share that same forgiveness with others. Don't let me get a "big" head and think of myself as a "sophisticated Christian." Rather, help me to remain childlike in my faith and keep it simple as I serve You in Christ's name; in Whose name I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright @2005 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.