29. Wala ka sa Lolo ko. He has the faith like of little children.

21 September 2020

Children’s children are a crown to the aged,

    and parents are the pride of their children. (Proverbs 17:6)

Matthew 19

14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Matthew 18

2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.

3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 

4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 

5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”

Luke 18

The Little Children and Jesus

17“Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

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.”

Yesterday's Sunday message by my discipleship group leader Pastor Ian Hibionada had a quote from Martin Luther - the man who changed the church, which changed the world! (Heroes, Dr. Harold J. Sala, pages ,77 -79)

Before the worship service, I looked at the passage for this blog, I revisited related past reflection of mine, which happens to be dated this 18 July, a second run of one dated 2 March 2019.

A kind of parallel to the words of Martin Luther. After the worship, I posted this in the church Powerhouse prayer messenger chat group, paraphrasing Martin Luther:

Luke 18

The Little Children and Jesus

17“Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Each of us should become like a little child to one another. And as we are like a little child to one another, the result is that Christ fills us all and we become a truly Christian community. Amen.

 

The words of the Lord Jesus, as cited in an earlier blog:

He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;

    though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

    you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

For this people’s heart has become calloused;

    they hardly hear with their ears,

    and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

    hear with their ears,

    understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.’”  (Matthew 13:11, 13 - 15)

Now going back to my 18 July 2020 reflection, here's the closing: "The heart of a child in each of us enamors us to our Heavenly Father. Young or old, let us call to mind the sacrifices of our parents and utter thanksgiving in prayer."

In four days' time, yours truly will be turning sweet sixteen...este...sweet sixty. It is said, age is just a number, and that, there is always a child in us.

In one blog, I mentioned that while I was starting grade school in the city and riding the passenger jeepney early afternoon about an hour long going home in the barrio, I would be asleep all the way and would be awakened by the driver when at our frontyard.

These days, I crave for such carefree attitude and just sleep.

In peace I will lie down and sleep,for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4:8)

Little children know less, and worry less. Older people know more, yet worry more. How true.

And the Lord Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” as in the top verse.

This simply means that the parables of the Lord Jesus are only to be appreciated by those with the heart like of little children.

Before going further, let me acknowledge some young people at church, with the heart like of little children, coming to the Lord with joy. Young people who obliged with my request to offer their talents as gift to the Lord, so intelligent yet very humble, among them Kyla, licensed PT, Aloysius, recent BS Statistics graduate cum laude, joining the Prayer Team, and recently, Keith, recent BS Civil Engineering graduate, joining the Communications Team, and other youth leaders who for two months took turns spearheading the Wednesday Prayer Meeting under the guidance of Youth Pastor Ian.

Back to me, these six months of quarantine has allowed myself to rediscover what the heart of little children is like.

In a span of just three years, my wife Marlou and I have been gifted with five, yes five, children's children. These little children, our grandchildren give us a glimpse of the carefree heart in them, although from virtual or internet view. 

We would have video chat often and also our children would post photos and videos in our chat group. Messenger mobile app has video effects that make the conversation funny, and that puts laughter in one's heart. Laughter makes one's heart young, no doubt. 

Our mouths were filled with laughter,

    our tongues with songs of joy.

Then it was said among the nations,

    “The Lord has done great things for them.” (Psalm 126:2)

Had there been no quarantine, time with our grandchildren will be a lot lesser, although physical visit could have been more frequent. Our youngest grandson Josiah Giting, born this 25 March, we were only able to cradle him after 3 months when quarantine was relaxed; now it's back to strict quarantine.

I believe a good side of the quarantine is that it allowed us older people the benefit to rediscover the heart of little children by way of more frequent interaction with them. 

The sight of a baby brings a natural smile in us and we behold the very miracle of the gift of every new life from God.

Writing blog has allowed me the privilege to recall to mind the goodness of the Lord in my life and that of my family.

I went through adversity and the Lord definitely sustained me. I have less in life at this stage, and that makes me pray all the more, grateful to the Lord for his blessings all these years and praying with a heart like of little children, how they would put their full trust with their own fathers and mothers, as I have put my faith in the Lord wholeheartedly.

My faith muscles have gained strength 💪 through exercise lifting weights of severe affliction.

Indeed one day, my children's children will say, wala ka sa Lolo ko, he has the faith like of little children.

This is the assurance to me from the Lord such that I worry less.

“I will be your God through all your lifetime, yes, even when your hair is white with age. I made you and I will care for you. I will carry you along and be your Savior.”

(Isaiah 46:4 The Living Bible)

The Good Lord gives the same assurance to you My Dear Friend, for that matter, and to all those who put their faith in Him. 

Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen (Romans 8:38 - 39).

My Dear Friend, if you have been blessed by this message, I am requesting you to kindly share it with family and friends whom you believe will be blessed as well.

Maraming salamat.