Just a number?

Now here's an interesting concept I heard a while back. Imagine this: each of us is the number 0. Here's a photo of me, and sometimes I feel as worthless as I look in this pic!

But God is number 1 (and you can take that in more ways than one - no pun intended there, by the way!):

Now this isn't going to become some binary weirdness, I promise! God has value all the time, and when we're right with Him, we become valuable too!

In fact, when we all band together as children of God, and let him take the lead, that's when we make up a huge number!

But when we're on the wrong side of God, His value doesn't change, but we don't strengthen:

But if there is no God, then we're without value and meaning, no matter how many band together:

So yeah, just a little thought-provoking illustration. Sticking with the theme of numbers, I also once heard the simple phrase One plus God = the majority. So even if you're the only one in the room who has God, then you're in the majority! 

Like a child?

When Jesus was asked by his disciples "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?", he called over a little child and used them to illustrate his answer, "Unless you become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:14).

Jesus quite often spoke to his disciples, followers and opposition using examples or parables to make his message more memorable. What does he mean here by saying that we should be like children?

Children have many qualities that adults do not really have any more; normally they have grown out of them or know better, but some qualities children possess are admirable and should be emulated by older people.

Jesus is not saying that his followers should become childish. His disciples were already very good at arguing over petty issues! But instead they should become childlike. How is this different?

Note firstly that Jesus uses the word "humbles" - children have very little status or importance compared to adults. They are more often than not dependent on adults to help them and support them through their lives, and this is a humbling experience. We should depend on our loving Father to support us through life rather than trying to make it work by ourselves.

Secondly, children have an inbuilt trust that adults seem to lose as they grow more worldly-wise. It's adults who panic and stress about their lives - what to eat, what to wear, where to go, how to afford things, how to be popular, etc. As adults we get bogged down by details like this every day of our lives and yes, they can be important, but the great news is that we have a loving heavenly Father, God, who knows all about these issues and is quite capable of handling them for us. He loves us more than we can imagine, and certainly more than our earthly fathers! Jesus is calling us to be like children before our heavenly Father (that makes sense, really!) by trusting in Him like little kids do with their earthly fathers. Consider the following quotes of Jesus:

• "...do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" ~ Matthew 6:25-27
• "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." ~ Matthew 11:28

Do you see five year olds stressing out about the same things adults do? A kid doesn't worry where their next meal is coming from - they trust that mum and dad will provide, and they do! When a little boy or girl tugs at daddy's sleeve and asks to be spun around in the air, and daddy obliges creating much laughter and enjoyment, the child doesn't believe that daddy will drop them. It might not even cross their mind! Sometimes we as humans can't live up to others' expectations, though. Maybe on some occasions we have failed our children by not being able to collect them from school, for example, but God the Father, on the other hand, never fails his children. Imagine then how content we can be in our lives when we know that our Father wants us to trust Him like we do our earthly fathers, but also to know that He will never make a mistake or let us down. When things don't seem to work out how we wanted or expected, it's only because God has a bigger and better plan over all and can judge our circumstances objectively.

So like children who don't think about the mortgage (their parents quietly have it under control), we too shouldn't worry about how our Father will provide for us in life. He will.