The child laughs because it never enters his mind that this is dangerous or that something bad might happen to him. This is no blissful ignorance. The prospect of being tossed up in the air only to fall freely to certain harm does not occur to him because his focus is on the face of his father or mother (the one who playfully tosses him into the air). The child instinctively trusts the arms that hold him, the ones that gently toss him into the air, and the arms that safely enfold him as he falls back.
When Jesus says Unless you become like a little child (Greek infant or toddler), you cannot enter the kingdom of God, our Lord is speaking of this wonderful trust that a child has. On the other hand, we as adults know too much to be so trusting. We have become captive to the power of fear and we find it nearly impossible to trust anyone -- even the Lord.
The truth is that from an earthly perspective, life is a free fall. We are quite literally being tossed into the air by all sorts of things we cannot control. Job, family, health, safety -- they are all a crap shoot (at least from an earthly perspective). We walk in danger all the way (as the hymnwriter put it). Without the Lord as the focus of our eyes, hearts, and minds, we would be left to the terror of this free fall called life after the fall (literally). Without the safe and secure arms of our Heavenly Father acting in Christ Jesus His Son, we would quite literally be captive to everything that can go wrong -- even and especially death.
The challenge of the faith is not to teach it to the small children but to learn from them how to trust without fear. The child tossed into the air by mom or dad is the perfect example of the power of faith to calm our fears. Children have not learned as well as we have the power of such fear and the manifold "what ifs" that seem so effective in making us prisoners to our fears. But their time will come. We will teach our children well -- so well, indeed, that by the time they are teenagers they will trust no one -- not us and not even God -- without a second thought. We have become very adept at instilling our own fears into our children but we struggle to learn from them the power of faith and trust.
Those who refuse infant baptism generally do so in large measure because they find it impossible to accept that a child can believe (the small children of infancy and toddlerhood). On the other hand, I find it hard to accept that any adult believes! It is an impossible work to transcend the power of our fears and believe in the Lord Jesus (Luther's explanation to the Third Article of the Creed). It is only the confounding and mystifying work of the Spirit who teaches faith to those who have long ago refused to trust anyone. I sometimes think that it is adults who should not be baptized and children who should be baptized without hesitation! Such is the power of fear.
The infant does not fear because he trusts, because his focus is on the one who holds him, and because he believes that the grace that holds him is greater than the dangers that surround him. Sure, this faith is not formed into words to be confessed or truth to be witnessed but it is there. Our Lord says whoever causes one of these little ones (infants and toddlers) who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to tie a millstone about his neck and be drowned in the depth of the sea. If for no other reason than Jesus tells us, we believe that these infants do believe in Him -- the faith of Scripture which is trust if not the faith we define wrongly as knowledge, understanding, and consent.
I fear because I struggle to believe that God's will is good and gracious and has nothing for me to fear. I fear because my focus is less on the Lord and more on the dangers and threats all around me all the time. I fear because I have lingering and nagging doubts that the Lord's power is great than the power of my enemy and enemies. I am afraid because the trust that was God's gift to me has been whittled away by the very people whom the Lord set around me to protect me. Sure, they did it because we live in a dangerous world where trust is easily exploited to our harm but, that said, it is still a crying shame. I wrestle every day with what it means to believe in Jesus Christ, to trust in His good and gracious will, and to know that His power is greater than all my enemies. Sometimes I wish I was that toddler tossed into the air by my dad. Those were the days when fear was minimal and trust was strong and I had confidence in the arms that held me.
To overcome my fears I spend a great deal of time in the Word of the Lord, singing the faithful hymns of old, praying with the faithful, and gathered around the Table of the Lord. Were it not for the means of grace and the Church's life of worship, I might have long ago given into doubt and fear forever. But in this grace in which I stand the Lord is at work bringing forth the new man created in Christ Jesus in the waters of baptism, undoing the power of fear, the reign of its terror, and its suspicion so that I might become again like a little child. In this respect, I pray never to grow up.
2 comments:
How simple the truth can be expressed. Thank you.
INTERNATIONAL CONCEPT OF WORK FROM HOME
Work from home theory is fast gaining popularity because of the freedom and flexibility that comes with it. Since one is not bound by fixed working hours, they can schedule their work at the time when they feel most productive and convenient to them. Women & Men benefit a lot from this concept of work since they can balance their home and work perfectly. People mostly find that in this situation, their productivity is higher and stress levels lower. Those who like isolation and a tranquil work environment also tend to prefer this way of working. Today, with the kind of communication networks available, millions of people worldwide are considering this option.
Women & Men who want to be independent but cannot afford to leave their responsibilities at home aside will benefit a lot from this concept of work. It makes it easier to maintain a healthy balance between home and work. The family doesn't get neglected and you can get your work done too. You can thus effectively juggle home responsibilities with your career. Working from home is definitely a viable option but it also needs a lot of hard work and discipline. You have to make a time schedule for yourself and stick to it. There will be a time frame of course for any job you take up and you have to fulfill that project within that time frame.
There are many things that can be done working from home. A few of them is listed below that will give you a general idea about the benefits of this concept.
Baby-sitting
This is the most common and highly preferred job that Women & Men like doing. Since in today's competitive world both the parents have to work they need a secure place to leave behind their children who will take care of them and parents can also relax without being worried all the time. In this job you don't require any degree or qualifications. You only have to know how to take care of children. Parents are happy to pay handsome salary and you can also earn a lot without putting too much of an effort.
Nursery
For those who have a garden or an open space at your disposal and are also interested in gardening can go for this method of earning money. If given proper time and efforts nursery business can flourish very well and you will earn handsomely. But just as all jobs establishing it will be a bit difficult but the end results are outstanding.
Freelance
Freelance can be in different wings. Either you can be a freelance reporter or a freelance photographer. You can also do designing or be in the advertising field doing project on your own. Being independent and working independently will depend on your field of work and the availability of its worth in the market. If you like doing jewellery designing you can do that at home totally independently. You can also work on freelancing as a marketing executive working from home. know more, email us on workfromhome.otr214427@gmail.com and we will send you information on how you can actually work as a marketing freelancer.
Internet related work
This is a very vast field and here sky is the limit. All you need is a computer and Internet facility. Whatever field you are into work at home is perfect match in the software field. You can match your time according to your convenience and complete whatever projects you get. To learn more about how to work from home, contact us today on workfromhome.otr214427@gmail.comand our team will get you started on some excellent work from home projects.
Diet food
Since now a days Women & Men are more conscious of the food that they eat hence they prefer to have homemade low cal food and if you can start supplying low cal food to various offices then it will be a very good source of income and not too much of efforts. You can hire a few ladies who will help you out and this can be a good business.
Thus think over this concept and go ahead.
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