I know people who look at Christians with a sense of wistfulness.

They would like to have what we do, but it seems like an impossible dream to have that kind of vitality and peace.

Some Christians feel wistful too. They know Jesus’ words offer abundant life, and yet it all seems as effective as a politician’s nice ideas.

So is the life Jesus came to give only for a few free spirits? Maybe it’s just for the lively sanguines, while the quiet, melancholy temperaments miss out. Is it actually for everyone, even wall-flowers?

Knowing God’s character of generosity and reading Jesus’ words of pure love, surely we can find out whom He intended to receive abundant life.

For The Child-Like

Life at thirty has taken a strange twist for me. After all these years of trying to grow up, I’m suddenly waking up to the realization that God wants me to be like a child. When the disciples argued among themselves about which of them was the greatest, Jesus brought a child to them and said they must become like that child to become truly great.

Granted, children are selfish and like to play “King of the Mountain.” Christ doesn’t want us to be childish and take license for selfishness. Still, children display virtues that God values. Sadly, as we become adults, we toss these traits aside because they’re not sophisticated enough to suit us.

Children are simple,
creative,
teachable,
honest.

If we would take just this list and change our lives only that much, imagine how much richer life would be!

We would notice the colors of a fallen leaf and the “airplane tracks” in the sky. We would take joy in the simple pleasures of fuzzy blankets or wind from a fan. We would transform the table with scattered petals of wildflowers gathered on a walk or add a pencil sketch to the envelope sent to a friend. We would ask more questions of the people we meet and wonder at their new, exciting, foreign worlds.