Daily reflection for the Season of Lent

Friday 12th March 2021

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The heart of a child

Recently I came across a post on social media that turned pictures of animals drawn by children in realistic photographs. The results are hilarious!

Bible Readings

Matthew 18:3
 “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Mark 10:13-16
And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

Reflection

As every parent will know children have a unique view of the world. It is of course a limited view, but sometimes they will see what we adults fail to notice. Here are a few suggestions about the qualities of a young child?
Openness about emotions and feelings.
Creativity and imagination.
Wonder and awe.
Joy.
Eternal hope.
Playfulness and humour.
Trust.
Easy forgiveness.
Boundless exuberance and energy.
Always thinking the best about life and other people.
Being willing to learn and grow.
Obviously as we grow up our personalities develop and mature, we develop a more informed view of the word. Whilst we need to leave behind our naivety, what childlike qualities do we need to recover to enable our faith to grow? I suspect the answer is slightly different for each of us!

The Christian writer, Timothy Keller, makes this comment about a childlike faith:
You know that God responds to your cry with the intense love and care of a parent responding to the cry of pain of his or her child –because you are in Jesus, the true Son. You can go to God with the confidence of receiving that kind of attention and love. Put another way, the Holy Spirit gives us a confident faith that turns naturally into prayer.

(Timothy Keller - Prayer,  page 71)

Prayer

Heavenly Father, grow my childlike faith in my praise of You and prayers to You.
Amen.

Blessing

May God the Father,
who does not despise the broken spirit,
give to you a contrite heart.
Amen.
May Christ,
who bore our sins in his body on the tree,
heal you by his wounds.
Amen.
May the Holy Spirit,
who leads us into all truth,
speak to you words of pardon and peace.
Amen.
And the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.
Amen.