“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (Mark 10:14-15, NIV2)

Just yesterday I was looking through a photo album filled with pictures of my children when they were young. I saw the shining faces of both of my sons as they hugged their mom, genuinely happy to be with her. Oh, these good ol’ days! What I wouldn’t do to travel back in time!

Something amazing happens 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 (even if, in our eyes, it’s only a bug!) 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. Take the time when we were camping in New Brunswick, for example: My boys woke up well before the rooster crows to prepare breakfast for us old folks. You should have seen the grins on their faces when we woke up.

Their love was also definitely 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. I also remember the time when I was taking care of my oldest son, just five at the time, and I told him, “All will be well. You will heal!” Before I could finish my sentence he started praying to our Heavenly Father, thanking Him for taking such good care of us.

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. Trust now has to be earned, but it also has to be approved by their friends first. 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, the one that seemingly comes straight from hell. We, too, think we know better. The more we persist, the more frustrated we become. Soon we find ourselves in unshakeable 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.

Doesn’t this sound like teenager tactics?

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?

Let me answer this question: He is our Father, the One who created us. Let us put one thing straight: 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 Saviour. 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 I ask something: Honestly, why aren’t we all that happy? We may pretend to be so, but looking deep down, we can’t honestly declare it to be so. Again, why aren’t we happy? Has pride blinded us completely?

“In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.” (Ps 10:4, NIV2)

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Prov 16:18, NIV2)

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!

To those belongs the kingdom!

Thank you God for being so patient with us. Forgive us for being overactive teenagers at heart. Help us to realize who You truly are: a Father who is crazy about us; the One who runs to help us, no matter what our circumstances; the Savior of our souls. You are my Hero, and I love you. Thank you, Father!

Rob Chaffart

(To access the entire “Kingdom of Power” devotional series, please click here.)