Little Ones that Believe

What counts most of all to Jesus? When the disciples wondered who was "the greatest" in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus showed them a little child. Vulnerable, weak, needing direction and care. Yes. And trusting. Do you see His delight as He holds this little person close, looks down into those wide trusting eyes, and says, "one of these little ones that believe in Me"? 

To believe is natural for a child. It is easy to persuade them and teach them. Everything is new and possible. My sister was babysitting a couple toddlers on a hot day and introduced them to a sprinkler for the first time. But instead of calling it a "sprinkler" she decided to call it a "gooby." The older siblings thought it was a great joke and kept up the fun all summer. Now those children still call the sprinkler a "gooby," to the confusion of all their little friends. After all, someone they trusted had told them.

We get older and wiser and stop believing everything we see and hear. Sometimes for good reasons - we've been disappointed or deceived and we don't want to be fooled anymore. But then we miss out, because we lose that powerful connection that God calls "faith." Think about it. We will miss all that Jesus offers us, if we don't believe Him with the simplicity of a child! So what can we do? We must admit that Jesus is worthy of our trust (yes, more worthy than our own best reasoning and self-sufficiency). When Jesus tells us that we need to trust Him in everything, He offers us a Hand that will never deceive us or let us down. When we are told to look at Jesus instead of the multitudes of needs and billows of trouble, the Eyes that look back at us hold the power of unlimited love. We are told to drop our barriers of skeptical reasoning so that the boundless goodness of God may flow out to us. Yes, when Jesus speaks, it is time to believing child again.

Dear ones, here is recent report from brother Lawrence to inspire you to be a "little one that believes." Last winter he and his wife took seven children (ages 6 to 12) into their home to care for. 

He writes:

Ah, these Dear children are a blessing to us. Even when we have no food in the house, it is glorious to hear them pray and testify that they will await the Lord's providence. It was last Saturday that my wife came out of the kitchen with bad news about gas and all the provisions having been depleted. There was no gas and no food except a packet of milk and tea leaves. I was in bed still ill [from malaria, which the Lord healed him of just a few days later], but I heard them pray and sing praises to God. In about two hours, a person called from Mombasa saying she was sending us two thousand shillings by phone for food and other needs. We had not heard from this lady for some time, but it was certainly a miracle for us. Two days previously, I could not travel to Mombasa to fetch two of the children we had sent to my daughter's home to stay for a while. I did not have the fares and the strength to go. But somebody who was traveling to Nairobi brought the children to us without our knowledge and request. Praise the Lord....... These children are a wonderful blessing. We are praying the Lord to continue helping us to bring them up properly till each one of them grows up into a fine saint. Please, pray with us.