The remarkable world of children has always fascinated me. Their naturalness and innocence — in particular — thrills me and serves as a reminder of the intended relationship between us and our Father. Even more, when they are pouty and sometimes destructive, there is a genuineness about them that is so winsome.
Regardless of our attainments, we never seem to rise above the fact we are simply the Father's boys and girls. The great and the less than great are called to admit to this eternal verity, in time. The famous and infamous, sooner or later, understand in some intuitive way their perpetual childhood.
Some of us wish we could experience more childlikeness in our churches and less childishness. There is a huge difference. One is ready for orders from the Almighty. The other complains the orders received are inappropriate or worse! Childlike congregations and pastors are always learning and growing.
Our destinies are tied to being precious and privileged children. The Father's love is always accessible and it always works in perfect harmony with his crucified and resurrected Son. We have so much for which to be grateful! Kneel some place this day and pour out your heart in thanksgiving for your special place and relationship.
Focus
Our dependency on God is the key to our success.
Body
1. The Father wants us to imitate his Son.
He "has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts...." That simply and unalterably means we are to be like Jesus, as nearly as we can. Through our joys and sorrows we are to remain steadfast in seeking to practice the teachings given to us. Through our good times and bad times we are to stay close. Through our successes and failures we are to hold up mirrors now and then to test our faithfulness to the highest and best we know. There is always another virtue or attitude for which to strive. We like to think in terms of attainment and soon admit we are only going to improve, humbly conceding our incompleteness.
Imitating a person you highly respect may be the most flattering action to the man or woman you have chosen. In Jesus' case it is more — much more — than a lofty level of respect. It is seeking to become like one who came to us as God in the flesh. This is a lot more than trying to become like a Michael Jordan, Barry Bonds, Ronald Reagan, Hillary Clinton, or even Billy Graham! Models of people in our midst and people long gone may be helpful, but they do not have the substance of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Even denominations have to be careful that Martin Luther, John Calvin, and John Wesley are not placed ahead of Christ. They are not the source but merely offer commentaries in print and behavior. We are to remember who the priority is.
Perhaps the greatest teaching devotional is the Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. The centuries of readers bear witness to the profundity of this book. In my own experience, I find it second only to the Holy Scriptures. Page after page, in dialogue form, the author drives home the truth that we are to be like Jesus and we do so by being childlike. Who can even estimate the good that has come from this publication, which has been through countless editions? Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox all benefit. It is more than a rare book; it is inspirational and instructional beyond anything, other than our Bibles. Its thrust is invariably the same as disciple and Christ visit: We are to imitate our Master and Friend.
World history has been influenced and perhaps shaped by those who have imitated others. Kings, queens, presidents, popes, prime ministers, ayatollahs, writers, artists, and scientists all learned from those they sought to imitate. On the more down-to-earth side of life, many of us found Harry Emerson Fosdick a homiletician worthy of imitation. In fact, go to any walk of life and we discover this phenomenon at work. Even the Mafia chieftains patterned their evil ways after those already successful in corrupting human lives! The Almighty knew the power of imitation far better than any of us. So, the best — the perfect one — was sent into our midst that we might know the way of spiritually happy life. The New Testament with the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) sets the stage for us.
2. The Father seeks to be our parent.
We are no longer slaves! We are children and eventually we are heirs. The Father's heart pulsates in loving energy to draw us to him in a relationship, both meaningful and everlasting. Christmas is the beginning of this love story and it continues to work itself out all our lives. It is the parental approach that wants his offspring to return to their rightful place in the scheme of things. The fall of man is reversed and the opportunity — indeed invitation — to rediscover what was intended to be ours is centered upon a Father's love and the gracious gift of his Son. The fallen kingdom so long in force can now be conquered. Talk about faith, hope, and love!
What does a really good parent do? He looks after his precious children, who are the most privileged in the entire creation. This means and implies many things but probably above all is protection and sustenance. Have we not been given minds to protect us from all adversaries? Have we not been given a vineyard that provides for our welfare? In a different way we are protected by a spiritual heart, given to us by our parent known as "Abba! Father!" Then we are sustained by the many spiritual disciplines, especially prayer and Holy Communion. Our God provided again and again. He is the totally good Father whose loving power and powerful love comes to us now and forever and ever. Hallelujah and amen!
Many older parents are being cared for today by their children and to a lesser extent other relatives or friends. As our population grows older and older, there will be greater need for this. It may take the form of a nursing home and/or assisted living quarters. Regardless of the health care configuration, it is coming and with question marks all up and down the line. Attempt, if you will, to relate this to our heavenly Father who is our parent. We will never have to be responsible for his care, or will we? The heart of God yearns for the children of the world — young, old, or otherwise — to come to him. So, his need for us to come to a shelter that protects from hell needs to be met. Just maybe we can minister to the Almighty and have never felt comfortable with that idea.
Even though the New Testament throughout designates God as the Father or in male-oriented language, this must be tempered by maternal and typically female characteristics present. The mystery involved here, especially in light of some theological controversies, is indeed substantial. We are working through a period of history and culture of immense confusion and disagreement. Hopefully and prayerfully, we will not lose our way and move precious children to a chasm that promises nothing but chaos and lost souls. In these days of questing it is good to be reminded that God comes to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In a sense, there is a parental relationship here that communicates our imperative need to be in a parental-child mode, always dependent on that for spiritual success.
3. The Father desires we huddle close to him.
To cry to one's Father is a fascinating way to depict our closeness to the everlasting God. Jesus knew more about this than you and I shall ever know. There is an almost indescribable intimacy and at times we are simply at a loss to tell others of God's presence. When pushed to describe this experience, I usually acquiesce into trying to say that I know beyond all doubt he is present. There is a sense that someone far bigger and better than yourself is there. It may be for quite sometime, perhaps minutes or even hours, or it may be only for a brief moment. The treasure is one that neither money nor self-help books can bring about.
His image as a faraway God, maybe perceived in a deistic fashion, does not exist. There is the Spirit of Jesus in our hearts, that glorious Son given to us by the Father through dear and blessed Mary. Don't you feel sorry for those who never seem to get beyond a distant deity, who neither feels nor handles anything or anyone directly? Some have said the founding fathers of our nation were mostly deists. Frankly, that is debatable. Read the original materials of Franklin, Jefferson, and Washington more carefully. Do not depend on those who want to tell you their feelings and thoughts. Evangelical Christianity, to my knowledge, has always preached that God is very familiar with his children. Only as we persistently reject his gracious invitations do we began to perceive him in an abstract manner. Yes, draw near to God and he will draw near to you.
Some saints could hardly tolerate the pressure of his presence. The light and the heat were so intense it became virtually unbearable. Would that every one of us could have that experience! They had snuggled up so close, they felt encompassed and God-intoxicated. To be drunk with the Spirit of which Saint Paul is speaking is one of ecstasy, elation, and elevation. We learn in a sublime way that our spiritual success is, indeed, brought about by our full dependency. A man was asked why he couldn't stop weeping with joy. He said quickly that he had gotten too close to God and was now receiving the aftermath. Thomas Merton knew about this as he penned his many books. For some saints, every day is Pentecost.
We have all heard at sometime or another that God is closer than our very skins. There isn't much eloquence or theological precision in that but it is a way of delineating a blessed connection like no other. My own spiritual journey has many such highly charged human/divine events in it. That does not automatically make me special in a category not permitted to others. It does make me more and more grateful for salvation history that culminated with Jesus Christ. The ancient church was visited time and again by such phenomenon. There is the search, sometimes excruciating among people today, for intimacy with God. It is more than for reasons of secular ambition. There is a groaning after the ways and will of their maker. They have come to their senses and really want to return to their Father!
4. The Father pursues us in loving understanding.
"The fullness of time had come" and there is no object in looking or waiting for the Jewish Messiah. He has come by way of the virginal conception. Blessed Mary was the channel. In a sense she was the mother of God. The early fathers of the church have said so and with powerful emphasis. This indicates we have moved from slave to child to heir and we are not second-class citizens in the kingdom of God. The eternal love has been manifested in a particular and concrete way no human being can annul or invalidate. We find ourselves in a love that knows no bounds and an understanding of his children totally unique, and the angelic hosts sing with divine joy!
His pursuit never relents, even at a death's door. We have known those who regularly put off the requirements of the Christian life. God remains faithful. So, you thought you got away? Does that sound just too pedestrian and secular? I hope not. Why? Because there is a profound truth here and it will not be cancelled out. It has to do with the innate preciousness and privilege we have. One thing God is not: He is not a liar. We ought to see clearly that God will do whatever he decides to do and with whomever he has chosen. There is a great and undeniable life lesson in all of this. While we are pursued in loving understanding, this does not imply we are with God as one buddy to another. To carry that concept very far leads to perversions and prevarications.
God's patience is a virtue of such profundity we can understand it only darkly. Nevertheless, we do have a glimpse. What father desires to have even the most obstreperous child lost forever? Now, we get even closer to the fatherhood of God whose heart is in it! It makes a difference — a big one — whether or not each of his children sidles up to his side and pleads to be in the arms of the only one who can really care indefinitely. This is so deeply personal and requires we consciously become vulnerable. He has more patience than Job! How much more privileged can we possibly be? Yet, often, and probably most of the time, we hold him at a distance, either totally petrified or fiercely independent.
Most of us understand amazing grace just enough to know God cares about us. We have a bit of trouble with a love that has no boundaries. Then, in our most lucid moments it dawns on us the great God of the universe understands and loves us far beyond our wildest dreams. Some very fine churchgoers that I have known say such moments are far and few between. My belief is this is a problem with human perception. God is as near as we want him to be. There is no scarcity in this love that knows no bounds. There is no limit to his understanding of our lives and loved ones. We must learn to cry out more often, "Abba! Father!" It is a wonderful exercise for our vocal chords. It is the means our heavenly daddy uses to take us in his arms and hold us tightly with a supernatural love.
Summary And Conclusion
Say what we will, those professing Christ find great security, stability, and satisfaction in being the Father's boys and girls. Such dependency has been with us in the Judeo-Christian as long as anyone can recall. "The fullness of time had come" and humankind feels the full weight of God's omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. He gives us our worth and identity, specifically as we relate to his Son — our Savior and Lord. All spiritual successes — in a way — are directly related to this understanding of the Christian faith. Are we precious and privileged? Of course, we are! Men and women over the centuries have attempted to find solace elsewhere. But we are extra-special. We have found more than easing of our discomfort.
So, the message is quite clear. We are called to be sons and daughters in the highest and best sense. This royal invitation is given to us by Jesus the Christ coming among us. Yes, we are given the opportunity to become spiritual royalty. Of course, the decision is ours. Jews and Gentiles have access to the gift above all others. What shall we do with the babe in Bethlehem now among us? Today is the day of salvation not only for you and me. It is such a day for others throughout the world. When in doubt as to how to bring this about, fall on your knees like children. Names and faces will come to you, some you will know and others you will not. Appreciate your lowliness. Christ did! Remember we have "the Spirit of his Son" in our hearts. All things are possible with God.