AS A CHILD
INTENTION:
We have a Father in
Heaven who is also Jesus’s Father. Jesus was His child. We are His child.
Sometimes we forget to “be a child” to the Lord, and understanding what that
means or looks like.
But we have Jesus to
look at to see what a Father-Child relationship is with God our Father.
And we can “come to
Him as a child” when we believe that He can be trusted—not as like our earthly
parents, but as the utmost perfect Loving Father who only does bring Good into
our lives.
I.
TOPIC:
We want to look at being “As a Child” with the Father!
Jesus spoke that we must become as a child to Him. But what
does this look like and mean?
When a child is born on this earth, they are a blank slate
to which the nurturing they receive gets imprinted on them as to who they will
become—that nurturing also influenced by the nature of the child’s makeup
(DNA).
The Lord designed us to be this blank slate so that we can
adapt and change and adapt to our environment to not only survive it, but
thrive in it. Without choice and without question (as children inherently /
naturally cannot), a child takes on all the traits of their parents and
surroundings.
However, the unfortunate reality of this world is that our
parents (and we as parents) are not perfect—all parents, themselves
(ourselves), raised by imperfect parents (all the way back to Adam and Eve). It
is impossible for us as adults to have God’s complete unconditional love out
from us. A child has that pure unconditional love (both in the giving and the
receiving) from birth, but that love gets effected (twisted / corrupted) as
imperfections shape their life into adulthood.
Thus, the influence we have on our children (and our parents
on us) is a mixed reality of love, fear, and error. And those mistakes may not
even be known, revealed, exposed, or conscious. We do things that affect
one-another (sowing and reaping) without our realisations of it.
Some of that because our good-intentions are marred by our
own hurts and pains; as well as our intentions being misinterpreted by those around
us, and us misinterpreting others. We all have filters that can alter the
meanings behind what is said or done—shaped by all that has come before us.
All these imperfections damage our heart, soul, mind, and
body. Trust is also broken or diminished. And from that damage, we develop
coping mechanisms as a child to survive the hurts, pains, and traumas of life.
Yet, the Lord is perfect. No faults whatsoever. And somehow,
with all our heartbreak and distrust of people (parents, ourselves, or others)
we have to come to Him with “all our heart, soul, and mind” (Matthew
22:37). Trust.
This goes against everything that we know. All the things we
developed to survive as a child, when held onto, become the stronghold we
become trapped (enslaved) to. These unhealthy coping mechanisms become our
natural response to life—in our own truth, they are our “gut feeling” and what
we do “from the heart”—without knowing that what feels natural to us, is not
the natural of the Lord.
Yet, changing that about us goes against everything we used
to protect ourselves in our childhood (and into adulthood) from the hurts,
pains, and traumas we experienced. Our “gut” and “heart” responses cannot
always be trusted if they have been altered by our past—“altered” as being from
the perspective of not having experienced hurts, pains, and traumas (an
impossible reality on this earth).
So, wait… if we don’t know it’s wrong, how are we to know
that we need to change it?
For me personally, I had to fully experience and see (have
revealed to me) all that was done to me that shaped my adulthood actions,
reactions, and habits. I knew childhood had developed trauma in me (having
discussed before); but I was blinded to much of what I used as coping
mechanisms—because, to me, they were natural. And thus, if “natural”, it was to
me (unintentionally) “right”. Oh, how I was wrong!
Once they became fully exposed (and continue to be exposed),
I could address each of those aspects and “re-parent” myself in the Lord. I have
to have my own slate wiped clean to again become a child that could be nurtured
by my perfect Father in Heaven. A Born-Again reality that has to discard all
that I knew before, to be transformed into a “new creation” created in Christ
(in HIS original Image of me).
In doing that, I could live, no longer from that flesh-mind
(unhealed / unhealthy parts of me), but in the spirit-mind of Christ. I AM a
new creation—I just have to continually be “transformed into His Image” (2
Corinthians 3:18). And when that happens in each minute area of my life, I
get to live in the simplest way—as He would tell me to “Just Be” me as Him (1
John 4:17b) (Bible Study Lesson 034).
This is what it is like to come to Him as a child—where we
learn to (sometimes painstakingly) discard what does not belong anymore in us,
and to learn from the Father (what Jesus demonstrated) in each aspect of life—inwardly
and outwardly, of ourself and of others.
I am His child. Jesus was His child. As such, I can look at Their
relationship to determine what it is purely like to come to God the Father as a
child. That relationship reveals both who WE are as a child, and who HE
is as a Father through the relationship shown through Jesus to the Father, and
through the Father to Jesus.
So, when you read and study about Jesus, look at Him as to what
it means to truly experience for ourselves as being His child (a child of God
the Father)—defining for us what it means to come to the Father “as a child”—not
that we have to “be like Jesus”, but that we are as Jesus is to the Father!
For Jesus’s upbringing, we don’t fully know Jesus’s
childhood; but we can accept that neither of his parents (Joseph and Mary) were
themselves perfect. We can even ask these questions about His childhood: Did
Mary do everything right? What happened to Joseph? Did Jesus face hurts and
abandonment from them that we also experience?
Jesus was born of the flesh as well (although sinless
flesh), so He also was nurtured the traits of His parents—which I feel is part
of what He had to let go of when He was baptised (Bible Study Lesson 026).
Jesus had to fully embrace God as His Father. And part of this process for
Jesus was reading (from a young age) about His Father in Heaven from the same
Old Testament scripture we have. Jesus found a Loving Father (not punishing
God) that we can also accept.
God the Father took care of Jesus His Son so that Jesus the
Son could take care of the world. It reveals a Heavenly (not earthly-style)
Father that cares for the person (individual) of the child, with a heart to
transform the collective.
And regardless of what Jesus had to go through, He never
gave up on the Promise of the Father and His Work for Jesus Himself and us all.
And the Father never gave up on Him as His Son; nor will He give up on us as
His child!
We have a Father in Heaven that is unlike any father / daddy
that we have on this earth. Because of this, and as we put aside our
projections of our earthly dads onto the Father, we can truly begin Trusting
the Father.
II.
READING: Luke
18:1-34 (ICB)
Then Jesus used this story to teach his followers that they
should always pray and never lose hope. 2 “Once there was a judge in a town. He
did not care about God. He also did not care what people thought about him. 3
In that same town there was a widow who kept coming to this judge. She said,
‘There is a man who is not being fair to me. Give me my rights!’ 4 But the
judge did not want to help the widow. After a long time, he thought to himself,
‘I don’t care about God. And I don’t care about what people think. 5 But this
widow is bothering me. I will see that she gets her rights, or she will bother
me until I am worn out!’”
6 The Lord said, “Listen to what the bad judge said. 7 God’s
people cry to him night and day. God will always give them what is right, and
he will not be slow to answer them. 8 I tell you, God will help his people
quickly! But when the Son of Man comes again, will he find those on earth who
believe in him?”
9 There were some people who thought that they were very
good and looked down on everyone else. Jesus used this story to teach them: 10
“One day there was a Pharisee and a tax collector. Both went to the Temple to
pray. 11 The Pharisee stood alone, away from the tax collector. When the
Pharisee prayed, he said, ‘God, I thank you that I am not as bad as other
people. I am not like men who steal, cheat, or take part in adultery. I thank
you that I am better than this tax collector. 12 I give up eating twice a week,
and I give one-tenth of everything I earn!’
13 “The tax collector stood at a distance. When he prayed,
he would not even look up to heaven. He beat on his chest because he was so
sad. He said, ‘God, have mercy on me. I am a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, when this
man went home, he was right with God. But the Pharisee was not right with God.
Everyone who makes himself great will be made humble. But everyone who makes
himself humble will be made great.”
15 Some people brought their small children to Jesus so that
he could touch them. When the followers saw this, they told the people not to
do this. 16 But Jesus called the little children to him and said to his
followers, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the
kingdom of God belongs to people who are like these little children. 17 I tell
you the truth. You must accept God’s kingdom like a little child, or you will
never enter it!”
18 A Jewish leader asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I
do to get the life that continues forever?”
19 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? Only God is
good. 20 You know the commands: ‘You must not be guilty of adultery. You must
not murder anyone. You must not steal. You must not tell lies about your
neighbour in court. Honour your father and mother.’”
21 But the leader said, “I have obeyed all these commands
since I was a boy!”
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “But there is
still one more thing you need to do. Sell everything you have and give the
money to the poor. You will have a reward in heaven. Then come and follow me!”
23 But when the man heard this, he became very sad because he was very rich.
24 When Jesus saw that
the man was sad, he said, “It will be very hard for rich people to enter the
kingdom of God! 25 It would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God!”
26 When the people heard this, they asked, “Then who can be
saved?”
27 Jesus answered, “The things impossible for men are
possible for God.”
28 Peter said, “Look, we left everything we had and followed
you!”
29 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth. Everyone who has left
his house, wife, brothers, parents, or children for God’s kingdom 30 will get
much more than he left. He will receive many times more in this life. And after
he dies, he will live with God forever.”
31 Then Jesus talked to the 12 apostles alone. He said to
them, “Listen! We are going to Jerusalem. Everything that God told the prophets
to write about the Son of Man will happen! 32 He will be turned over to the
non-Jewish people. They will laugh at him, insult him, and spit on him. 33 They
will beat him with whips and then kill him. But on the third day after his
death, he will rise to life again.” 34 The apostles tried to understand this,
but they could not; the meaning was hidden from them.
III.
RELATED VERSES AND QUESTIONS:
A. Jesus
was a child Himself. We see that He naturally had a heart to God His Father. As
such, Him staying behind in the temple was natural for Him to do in innocence
and without concern. We see that in children now—that they demonstrate the same
innocence when we as parents / guardians worry and become anxious in trying to
care for them and keep them safe in all aspects of life. But above and beyond
that, in the verses following, we can see that from a young age, Jesus
committed to learning about and from His Heavenly Father above His earthly dad.
Luke
2:39-52 (ICB)
Joseph and Mary finished
doing everything that the law of the Lord commanded. Then they went home to
Nazareth, their own town in Galilee. 40 The little child began to grow up. He
became stronger and wiser, and God’s blessings were with him.
41 Every year Jesus’
parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. 42 When Jesus was 12 years
old, they went to the feast as they always did. 43 When the feast days were
over, they went home. The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents
did not know it. 44 Joseph and Mary travelled for a whole day. They thought
that Jesus was with them in the group. Then they began to look for him among
their family and friends, 45 but they did not find him. So they went back to
Jerusalem to look for him there. 46 After three days they found him. Jesus was
sitting in the Temple with the religious teachers, listening to them and asking
them questions. 47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and wise
answers. 48 When Jesus’ parents saw him, they were amazed. His mother said to
him, “Son, why did you do this to us? Your father and I were very worried about
you. We have been looking for you.”
49 Jesus asked, “Why did
you have to look for me? You should have known that I must be where my Father’s
work is!” 50 But they did not understand the meaning of what he said.
51 Jesus went with them to Nazareth and obeyed them. His mother was
still thinking about all that had happened. 52 Jesus continued to learn more
and more and to grow physically. People liked him, and he pleased God.
Question: Jesus placed God the Father a greater
influence in His life than His parents—how difficult is it for you to let go of
what/how you were trained by your own parent(s)? Do you question your
upbringing?
B.
We see that
growing up, God was with Jesus. But a time came when Jesus committed to His
ministry, getting baptised by John the Baptist. At this moment, Jesus gave up
any aspect of His flesh and committed Himself to the Spirit and the Will of
God. From Heaven the voice of God proclaimed Jesus as His Son! No longer was Jesus’s
relationship to God as just “God”, but now a relationship where God is His
Father (with Him). We too, no longer have to see “God” as a just distant
unrelatable figure, but as a Father who is “pleased with us as His child”. You
believe in Him, and nothing you do or don’t do can change that (Bible Study
Lesson 022).
Luke
3:21-22 (ICB)
When all the people were being baptized by John, Jesus
also was baptized. While Jesus was praying, heaven opened and 22 the Holy
Spirit came down on him. The Spirit was in the form of a dove. Then a voice
came from heaven and said, “You are my Son and I love you. I am very pleased
with you.”
Question: In your own upbringing, did you feel
that your parent(s)—or even God—were not pleased with you?
C. Jesus
led His entire life and ministry trusting fully on the Lord—He not only
preached this trust, but demonstrated it. We have to remember that when the
Lord gives us instruction, He holds Himself to the same instruction He give us.
He will not hold us to a higher standard than He Himself holds to. So, when the
Lord is told to us that He is our Loving and caring provider, He really is! He
provided all these following things to Jesus Himself as His child; and as we
are also His child, we share the same experience and trust that He does
provide. A child inherently trusts that their provider will have food, shelter,
and clothing—the same is what we can do as a child: to inherently trust that He
will provide for us (even if, as a child on this earth, we were neglected in
this kind of care). The Father did this providing for Jesus, Jesus shared the
Father does for us too!
Matthew
6:25-34 (ICB)
“So I tell you, don’t
worry about the food you need to live. And don’t worry about the clothes you
need for your body. Life is more important than food. And the body is more
important than clothes. 26 Look at the birds in the air. They don’t plant or
harvest or store food in barns. But your heavenly Father feeds the birds. And
you know that you are worth much more than the birds. 27 You cannot add any
time to your life by worrying about it.
28 “And why do you worry
about clothes? Look at the flowers in the field. See how they grow. They don’t
work or make clothes for themselves. 29 But I tell you that even Solomon with
his riches was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. 30 God
clothes the grass in the field like that. The grass is living today, but
tomorrow it is thrown into the fire to be burned. So you can be even more sure
that God will clothe you. Don’t have so little faith! 31 Don’t worry and say,
‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 All the
people who don’t know God keep trying to get these things. And your Father in
heaven knows that you need them. 33 The thing you should want most is God’s
kingdom and doing what God wants. Then all these other things you need will be
given to you. 34 So don’t worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of
its own. Tomorrow will have its own worries.”
Question: Does past childhood neglect hinder
your ability to trust God the Father for your essential needs?
D. Jesus’s
trust in the Father was not easy—it involved great difficulty and an endless
commitment. It wasn’t that the Father brought about the difficulty, but that
the difficulty came as part of Christ’s commitment to what the Father called
Him for (and just as living on this earth). Jesus had to maintain that
commitment; and in that, learned what obedience fully was through Him choosing
to be obedient to the Father within all the persecution and anguish He faced.
Hebrews
5:7-10 (ICB)
While Jesus lived on
earth, he prayed to God and asked God for help. He prayed with loud cries and
tears to the One who could save him from death. And his prayer was heard
because he left it all up to God. 8 Even though Jesus was the Son of God, he
learned to obey by what he suffered. 9 And he became our perfect high priest.
He gives eternal salvation to all who obey him. 10 And God made Jesus high
priest, a priest like Melchizedek.
Question: How does your flesh react to obedience
to the Father (than to itself)?
E. In
this world, our flesh likes to take on religious duties to prove itself. This
can show up in our misinterpreting of the Bible—giving rise to doctrines,
denominations, judgments, and a law-mindset / law-heartset. This is why it is stated
that “the Law came through Moses, but Grace and Truth came through Christ
Jesus” (John
1:17)—there is no Grace or Truth in the Law. Thus, Jesus came and showed us
the Truth of a Loving Father; also sending us His Spirit to help us connect
with God the Father as a Spirit.
John
4:23-24 (ICB)
The time is coming when
the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. That time is
now here. And these are the kinds of worshipers the Father wants. 24 God is
spirit. Those who worship God must worship in spirit and truth.”
Question: What is Spirit and Truth to you in
relating to God the Father?
F. Part
of being able to call God our Father is recognising what we gain as being His
children. That we became His child means we have unrestricted access to Him and
all He knows. We don’t need to be told what to do as slaves, we can see all He
does and do it freely as well—just as Jesus did (demonstrating that reality to
us). And it is through our connected Spirits that we truly can know all that
the Father knows. There is nothing He has that we don’t have access to—all that
He promised, and all Spiritual Blessings, are ours. You are not robbing God by
taking from Him what is already yours (Philippians
2:6).
1
Corinthians 2:10-13 (ICB)
But God has shown us these
things through the Spirit.
The Spirit knows all
things, even the deep secrets of God. 11 It is like this: No one knows the
thoughts that another person has. Only a person’s spirit that lives in him knows
his thoughts. It is the same with God. No one knows the thoughts of God. Only
the Spirit of God knows God’s thoughts. 12 We did not receive the spirit of the
world, but we received the Spirit that is from God. We received this Spirit so
that we can know all that God has given us. 13 When we speak, we do not use
words taught to us by the wisdom that men have. We use words taught to us by
the Spirit. We use spiritual words to explain spiritual things.
Galatians
3:26-29; 4:1-7 (ICB) {PoG}
You were all baptized into
Christ, and so you were all clothed with Christ. This shows that you are all
children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 28 Now, in Christ, there is no
difference between Jew and Greek {as there is no Jew and no Greek}. There is no
difference between slaves and free men {as there is no slave and no free}.
There is no difference between male and female {as there is no male and no female}.
You are all the same in Christ Jesus. 29 You belong to Christ. So you are
Abraham’s descendants. You get all of God’s blessings because of the promise
that God made to Abraham.
1 I want to tell you this: While the one who will
inherit his father’s property is still a child, he is no different from a
slave. It does not matter that the child owns everything. 2 While he is a
child, he must obey those who are chosen to care for him. But when the child
reaches the age set by his father, he is free. 3 It is the same for us. We were
once like children. We were slaves to the useless rules of this world. 4 But
when the right time came, God sent his Son. His Son was born of a woman and lived
under the law. 5 God did this so that he could buy freedom for those who were
under the law. His purpose was to make us his children.
6 And you are God’s
children. That is why God sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts. The
Spirit cries out, “Father, dear Father.” 7 So now you are not a slave; you are
God’s child, and God will give you what he promised, because you are his child.
Ephesians
1:3-5 (ICB)
Praise be to the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, God has given us every spiritual
blessing in heaven. 4 In Christ, he chose us before the world was made. In his
love he chose us to be his holy people—people without blame before him. 5 And
before the world was made, God decided to make us his own children through
Jesus Christ. That was what he wanted and what pleased him.
Question: Do you feel you have free access to
God the Father? Do you know what “every spiritual blessing in heaven” is that
has been given us?
IV.
FURTHER THOUGHT:
A. John
1:1-13 (ICB) {PoG}
Before the world began,
there was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with
God in the beginning. 3 All things were made through him. Nothing was made
without him. 4 In him there was life. That life was light for the people of the
world. 5 The Light shines in the darkness. And the darkness has not overpowered
the Light.
6 There was a man named
John who was sent by God. 7 He came to tell people about the Light. Through him
all people could hear about the Light and believe. 8 John was not the Light,
but he came to tell people about the Light. 9 The true Light was coming into
the world. The true Light gives light to all.
10 The Word was in the
world. The world was made through him, but the world did not know him. 11 He
came to the world that was his own. But his own people did not accept him. 12
But some people did accept him. They believed in him. To them he gave the right
to become children {sons} of God. 13 They did not become his children {sons} in
the human way. They were not born because of the desire or wish of some man.
They were born of God.
Thoughts: We are all born into this world as
children of the Father. As life happens to us and with us, we become aware of
all that is. And from this awareness, can accept adoption out of the world into
the Family of the Father. For though we are called Sons, we can only become His
child (adopted out from this world) through all that Christ Jesus did (His
Faith)—from which we accept / receive this adoption (Surname / Identity) by
believing in Him. Christ Jesus was God the Father’s Son; and in believing in
Him (being Born-Again), we inherit everything that is Christ Jesus, including
His Sonship. You can even think of Jesus as your “older brother” (older
sibling) in which He already showed what it is like to live as a child of God
the Father.
Note that the reason
the term Son is given (and not Son and Daughter) is to directly negate the
human error of thinking that men are superior to women—something the Old
Testament typically shows—a result of Adams and Eves sin; not God’s Design, nor
God’s instruction. It is humanity itself that chose to treat a “son” as being
the heir and focus of a household (instead of equally between son and daughter),
yet the Lord wanted to make it clear that everyone was to be called a Son (in the
binary terms of patriarchal hierarchy); eliminating the oft human-created
inequality so prevalent still in society (gender, race, nationality, status,
etc). Thus, it isn’t really about being a “son”, but being equal through not
being either. Christ Jesus abolished all the inequalities that mankind (from
Adam and Eve) created—for there is no longer male / no longer female, no longer
slave / no longer free, no longer Jew / no longer Gentile because of Christ
Jesus (Galatians
3:28).
B. Luke
22:39-46 (ICB)
Jesus left the city and
went to the Mount of Olives. His followers went with him. (Jesus went there
often.) He said to his followers, “Pray for strength against temptation.”
41 Then Jesus went about a
stone’s throw away from them. He kneeled down and prayed, 42 “Father, if it is
what you want, then let me not have this cup of suffering. But do what you
want, not what I want.” 43 Then an angel from heaven appeared to him to help
him. 44 Jesus was full of pain; he prayed even more. Sweat dripped from his
face as if he were bleeding. 45 When he finished praying, he went to his
followers. They were asleep. (Their sadness had made them very tired.) 46 Jesus
said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray for strength against
temptation.”
Thoughts: As much as Jesus suffered during His
ministry and here leading up to the Cross, He never turned-away, blamed, or
accused God the Father. He maintained relationship. God is perfect—not because
He makes it that “troubles” never happen (which He cannot)—but because there is
a greater good out there for each and every person in the midst of all the
troubles we do go through. It is up to us to accept this in our own lives too.
We may not have the vision, prophesy, or calling Jesus had, but that does not
mean we don’t have a purpose here in this earth. We will never see the positive
impact we can have on others, but when we commit to the Lord’s Will and
overcome the hardships we face, that positive impact will transpire. And until
we get to Heaven, we will not know how we changed the lives in this world for
good; but that too is giving God the Glory.
V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT & SUPPORT:
A thank you to Kelly and Joshua who are inspirational in this life-journey. And to all the family, friends, sponsors, and donors who have fed into this ministry and outreach.
If you would like to support this ministry and outreach, you may do so via our website or at:
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