CHILDLIKE

“Ask and you will receive.

Search and you will find.

Knock, and the door will be opened for you.

Everyone who asks will receive.

The one who searches will find,

And for the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Mtt.7:7-8

It helped me to rearrange the order of these six lines a little, connecting the lines that applied to each other….

“Ask and you will receive.

(Everyone who asks will receive.)

Search, and you will find.

(The one who searches will find,)

Knock, and the door will be opened for you.

(and for the one who knocks, the door will be opened.)”

Mtt.7:7-8

I love the way that each instruction that Jesus gave to us (bold lines above), was followed with the assurance of what God’s response would be.  The statement following each instruction puts more strength behind the words, and more clarity of what God will do in response to our ask…..our search….our knock.

What if I don’t ask?    What if I don’t search?   What if I never knock on that door?   God’s clear responses listed here are firm statements.  There is such reassurance concerning His reaction to our various human movements toward Him.  It’s childlike….simple….human….everyday kind of engagement with God.

I remember when I was about 3 years old, my mom was lying on the couch holding her hand over her ear.  She was in a lot of pain, and I had not seen her like that before.  I went close to her and asked why she was crying.  She said, “Oh!  Mommy’s ear hurts so much! . . . Would you pray for it?”    Without hesitation, I put my little hand on her ear and said, “Jesus, please make Mama’s ear stop hurting.”   I don’t think I even said, “Amen.”   Within a minute, my mom said, with dismay, “Honey!!  The pain is all gone!   It’s gone!”

I think we make our interactions with God far more complicated than necessary.  The Bible talks about childlike faith.  Children interact with Him with such simplicity….a purity of belief.  They have not yet learned to view life with mistrust.

May we learn from them…and give the children in our lives no reason to learn to distrust……