READING: Numbers 35-36, Mark 10:1-31
“Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
Mark 10:15
My younger brother had tossed a Frisbee, and it landed on the roof of the house. To my great surprise, he helped my young niece onto the roof, from which she leapt into his arms after retrieving the toy. I watched with both anxiety and fascination as she trusted her daddy to take care of her from the beginning to the end of the adventure – and he did just that. In her mind, she had no reason to fear.
That’s the kind of childlike trust Jesus expects us to have when we follow Him. Like a child, in fact, we have nothing to offer Him but reliance and dependence. We’re to trust His love, even when His leading takes us in the direction of what appears to be great risk. Following Him might bring persecution (Mark 10:30), but childlike faith trusts Him even then; this kind of faith allows God’s overwhelming love to remove the threat behind the word “risk.”
It is difficult to exhibit that kind of trust, though, when we hang on to our stuff like the rich young ruler did in Mark 10. He claimed to want eternal life, but he was unwilling to give up his gods to get there. Apparently, his possessions had such a pull on his life that the fear of giving them up was too much; rather than follow Jesus, he “went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions” (Mark 10:22). In the light of my niece’s faith in her daddy, the rich young man likely would not have climbed to the roof, much less have leapt in faith into the Father’s arms. Indeed, he probably would have held his Frisbee so tightly that it would never have landed on the roof in the first place. He may not have even been in the game.
Faith is funny that way, you know. The more we trust God like a child would, the more exciting the adventure can be.
ACTION STEPS:
- Make a list of things/fears/concerns that sometimes keep you from trusting God fully. Confess them to God.
- Think about the last time you stepped out in genuine faith, trusting God with childlike faith. If it’s been a while, you might ask God to direct you to such a challenge.
PRAYER: “God, give me a childlike trust and faith that no longer worries about my possessions. Help me look forward to the adventure.”
TOMORROW'S READING: Deuteronomy 1-3 Mark 10:32-52
