~ Faith Like Little Ones Have ~

Mark 9:35-37 - "And he [Jesus] sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, "If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.""

I want forever to be a little one; a child that Jesus scoops up in his arms and speaks to. I want a heart full of faith in what I believe in. Children will believe anything, honestly. But, to know deep inside that's it's real, that it's true, is something it takes true faith to believe in. So many people I've met don't understand. They don't believe it, and they oppose it. Sometimes to the point to where I don't know what to say anymore. These people oppose it so hard. They will not believe it. Even if their way they know is wrong. But, the fact that they oppose it so hard only means that it's something worth opposing, something they don't understand. I want them to understand, and I want them in heaven with me one day. I want to see their eyes light up when it finally clicks that it's not a joke, that it's real and true and pure and necessary; that they're sinners who cannot ever repay what they've done against God. That's the moment every Christian has gone through, and that's the moment they want everyone else to experience.

In Acts 19:8-10, it says, "And he [Paul] entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew form them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks."

So there will always be stubborn people, but it is up to God who hears and who rejects. One day every knee will bow, and every tongue proclaim.

I love this so much: it's "The Conversion of Lydia" in Acts 16.

(Acts 16:13-15) "And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyartira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us."

And so I leave you with verse 14b: "The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul."

Paul's words didn't open her heart, just like your words and my words can't open hearts, but God can. So pray for that. I will too.