An inheritance only for children
Peter Neilson
November 23, 2019
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Listen to this daily worship
Luke 18: 15-17 (NIV)
15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
The contemplatives speak of the beginner’s mind as essential to knowing God. What we think we know can be a barrier to what we have yet to know. Parker Palmer, the American Quaker, reminds us that a child lives “on the brink of everything” with a sense of wonder and curiosity, openness to every new experience. The kingdom of God opens up to those who come with that child-like spirit of adventure and wonder at what we do not yet know.
Father God,
Restore in me the lost child,
Who once revelled in Your love
And lived at ease in your presence.
Release me from my over-thinking
My attempts to corral You in my ideas
My desire to harness You to my plans.
Mother God,
Restore in me the resting child
Who once knew quiet trust
And walked safely on your way.
Release me from my turbulent anxieties
My scanning of every threatening horizon
My need to be in control.
Parent God,
Reveal in me the growing child
Ready for the next phase of life
Toughened for the challenge of discipleship.
Release me from my need to be needed
My addiction to approval
My manipulating moodiness.
Jesus, Only Son of the Father
By Your Spirit,
Transform me into a maturing child of God
Reflecting day by day
the One in whose image I am made. AMEN.
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