Assessed

P 3083 Adaptability.

/ DVH

““Learn this well: Unless you dramatically change your way of thinking and become teachable like a little child, you will never be able to enter in.” Matthew 18:3 TPT.

Back when my kids were little, once a year I took the three of them, separately, off into the city to buy an individual ornament each for our Christmas tree. Those individual journeys included a visit to the Christmas theme park on Myer’s roof, a ride on something or other, plus a joyous inspection of the Myer windows. Then we wandered around the Christmas shop together choosing this year’s ornament. Finally they had a yummy treat, and a return long train ride home, with lots of time to talk. 

However, even though fun was on the agenda, I knew I was there to teach them how to be responsible caring people, whilst preserving as much of their childhood fun as I could. So somebody else, (me!), cleaned their clothes, and decided what they would eat, and I looked after them when they were sick etc. Unfortunately, once they started to grow up, things became more difficult. They didn’t like this and they wouldn’t eat that. Their ‘teachability’ and ‘adaptability’ levels dropped clear away as they grew older. 

I discovered today, when I spent time meditating on this verse from Matthew, that I personally have no idea how to be a child when I am with the Lord. After all children trust their parent to get things right! But that kind of freedom was absent from my own life, because I don’t think I actually knew very many carefree moments. I’m not complaining BTW, I simply lived with a distinct lack of the kind of freedom a happy child enjoys. So it continually clouded my view of the way the Lord sees me. 

And let us be clear —the Lord sees us as His children, as well as seeing us as His people. It dawned on me that I need my thinking transformed in this area as I have a limited human reference point to draw upon. I strongly suspect that I am not the only pickle in this barrel, many other people have had limited childhood experiences too! But is this what this verse is all about? Is it just the idea of being taken care of without even noticing? Or being able to play anywhere you want, whenever you want? I came to believe this verse is all about our inner attitude toward God Himself.

So I did further research and decided to look at children in other countries. And lo and behold, in the midst of war, starvation, and suffering, I saw that if a child can play, it will. We’ve all seen pictures of children playing in bomb sites, or in the dust and dirt of a refugee camp. I came to the conclusion that childlikeness is an inner attitude – it is not formed by our outward situations. It seems to me that Jesus is talking about the way we approach this life. Things like wanting to learn and being adaptable to change.

Those children in refugee camps etc. don’t want to be where they are, they would probably like a nice little safe house to live in, but their circumstances have taught them to ADAPT.And as I have aged, it seems I have become less adaptable. That attitude, plus life’s ongoing difficulties, trials and heartaches can actually keep me from the very place Father God wants me to live in! He wants me to remember that I can always be confident in Him, despite my inner or outward circumstances. 

Faith is defined in the dictionary like this:“complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” That’s when I took a good look at my own measure of faith and I decided that my somewhat oppressive childhood was no excuse. I can’t hide in what other people did to me, because now – today! – I have a choice. I can’t even hide in what some people continue to do to me …because my confidence is in GOD HIMSELF, not in my circumstances or other people’s actions. Whether I am damaged by this life, or ill because of my body’s weaknesses, I can still choose to live in complete confidence that God is with me, and for me, and He will finish the work He started in me.

That’s what childlikeness looks like. It is about trusting in  SomeOne Who is greater than I am – even when I don’t understand what is going on. Every single thing that happens to me does not always have to be assessed by my understanding because my understanding is broken! Unless I believe that God Himself means to do me good, when things look bad – I will start to lose my childlike attitude and trust. 

Wonder of wonders, my glorious Father has given me a book that gives me detailed descriptions of how He feels about me, (and many many other people) so I need to put my faith in His written word, more than I put it in whatever is going on around me. Children trust their parents to fix things – while they go on with what they are doing. In the end, I decided to pray to be more adaptable … how about you? 👋 

“Energise the limp hands, strengthen the rubbery knees. Tell fearful souls, “Courage! Take heart! God is here, right here, on His way to put things right And redress all wrongs. He’s on His way! He’ll save you!” Isaiah 35:3-4.

P 2626 What are we investing in?

/ DVH

If we actually happen to have any spare money today, what do we do with it? Some people like to invest it in stuff like blue chip bonds or some such. Me? Not-so-much! I do, however believe in banking, but that’s because I was in the ark!! (I was one of those two donkeys, in case you were wondering.) 

Seriously, 65 years ago I had a Comm Bank tin kid’s bank, (It was an ugly thing!) which they eventually replaced with an ever-so-slightly more aesthetic yellow plastic piggy bank. This meant that we learnt about banking at school. Some of us took money to school, and the Comm bank representative came around to collect it and mark it in our little passbooks. That was useful stuff to learn. Mo-ving on …

Matthew 13:44,45,46 says: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”

Just to make sure we are all on the same page, I would like to start out by saying that, yes, we did talk about this scripture a couple of days ago. But then I read it again… and saw something else! So here we go again … hang in there with me please? 😊

What I noticed first of all was that this man was observant. He wasn’t just wandering about not paying attention to what went on around him. He saw something nobody else saw, and he went after it.  After he saw an item he truly wanted, he invested physically in it. He actually went and dug up the treasure … which was no small feat. That means, he assessed the treasure’s value and decided it was worth all that effort. You know, sometimes this life turns on a pin! For this guy it turned on how observant he was, and whether he was prepared to do more than look. 

After he discovered what he had, he physically covered it up again, and then he deliberately went bought the field. Ya might want to think on that… 🤔  And finally, he went back and dug the treasure up again. The last thing this guy did was he invested in what he found, financially … The bible says ‘he sold everything he had.’ That’s a big deal! Imagine selling everything you have for just ONE THING. This guy did! He invested emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually — and the bible said it gave the man JOY to do it!

We both know, that Jesus is talking about the kingdom of God, so this parable is not just about an exciting treasure- hunting story. The important part was that this man invested everything in what he found, not just his money. Obviously he thought it was worth it all. That concept made me think too. I came up with a few questions for all of us, to think about today.

Has the kingdom of God cost you and I everything? Yeah, bring that up!! 🙄 Seriously, what has changed in, and about our lives because we have invested in His kingdom? That man’s life radically changed. He made a commitment to what he found. So much so, if that treasure wasn’t what he thought it was, then he had just ruined his entire life. That thought should stop all of us in our tracks. How have our lives changed since we entered the kingdom of God?

How have I responded to it? What kind of investment have I made in it? Was there a big fuss initially, but then that subsided into a routine? Things like bible study Tuesday, prayer group Wednesday, Church on Sunday, joining the choir, fellowship suppers… etc. You know, that doesn’t sound much like what this man did. This does not sound like a hobby, or club to me. This man knew treasure when he found it and he did not hesitate, instead he gave it everything he had! How much is the kingdom of God worth to me? Do I go out of my way to participate in it? Do I give to it, so it can prosper? Is it my first thought in the morning and my last one at night?

Am I so devoted to it that my thoughts go to it during the day?  What are we actually investing our day to day lives IN?  We can easily think of investments as being about money, financial deals etc. But our investment into the Pearl of Great Price, is not meant to be a passing fad or a funding exercise… Or maybe a free ticket to heaven…. or even a promise of better days to come!  Jesus is telling us through this parable that our investment in God’s kingdom will cost us everything. That’s the way His kingdom works. Sooner or later we need to realise, it is a mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual investment and commitment. 

“… if you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, then come, follow Me.”Matthew 19:22. SEE… it’s costly! Bye 👋