The Choice and the Child in You

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

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I'm pretty sure a woman wrote that famous rhyme "The only difference between men and boys is the size of their toys." Actually, I think there's a little boy that does live inside of most men. Look, we're all grown up now, but we've got this little five-year-old kid in us. Come on. And, by the way, I think there's a little girl who lives inside of most women.

It doesn't come out too often, but it comes out at certain times like when it snows. There's just this urge to throw a snowball. Or when you go to an amusement park with your kids. Oh yeah, and Christmas. Christmas! That brings out the child inside. I think that the more adult responsibilities we get and the more sophisticated we become, the harder it is for that little boy or that little girl to get out. But you need that kid!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Choice and the Child in You."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 18, beginning at verse 2. Jesus was conducting a very memorable object lesson, and it says this: "He called a little child and had him stand among them. And He said: (Now, He's talking to all these sophisticated adults.) 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'" Well obviously Jesus is saying here, "You've got to become childlike." Not childish. But you've got to become childlike again if you're going to get eternal life. Wow!

I was talking to a man who struck me as a very serious fellow, and I said, "Hey, listen, there's a child in all of us." I said, "You know, if the little boy in you ever dies, you might as well. It's pretty much over when the kid goes away." Well, spiritually, Jesus might agree with that. Keep that child inside of you alive, because you need it to get to heaven.

What's He saying here? That you've got to be like a little child to get to heaven? Well, the Bible says "Without faith it is impossible to please God." And in John 1:12, the Bible says, "To all those who received Him, to as many as believed in His name, He gave the right to become the children of God." In other words, if you put all your trust in Jesus, you get into God's family. It's not religion, it's not giving, and it's not correct doctrine. You trust Jesus and what He did when He died for you.

See, the older we get the harder that is. But how about with a child? Well, a child gets hurt, runs to the parent and trusts the parent's treatment. A little child has a question, they ask Mommy or Daddy. A little child is scared? Look to Mom and Dad. The older we get, the more we do for ourselves and the less we put our hope in our parents.

That's okay in our families here on earth. But let's talk about God's family, because that's a sure way to miss God. Maybe you've gotten pretty far on your own and you pride yourself. You're self-reliant. You say, "Hey, I can handle it." Well, you can't handle the gap between you and God. Every culture in the world knows there's something between us and God. And I believe your own heart tells you that.

The Bible confirms that in Isaiah 59:2, "Your sin has separated you from your God." Romans 3:10 says, "There's no one righteous, no not one." Not compared to a perfect God, of course. But Romans 5:6 says, "When we were totally powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." Now, maybe you're a believer and you've even told that to others. But you could have missed the one thing that will give you that relationship with God. You have never surrendered yourself to Him and fallen on your knees at the cross where Jesus died for you and said, "Lord, I am powerless." And like a little child, putting all their trust in the parent who can do it for them what they can never do for themselves, you say, "I give myself to You. I put my total trust in You, Jesus, what You died to give me. You're all I've got. You're my only hope."

Have you ever done that? This might be your time. This could change everything: your life and your eternity. You say, "Ron, I don't know how to do that." I want to encourage you to go to our website as soon as you can today and let me meet you there and we'll work together on that. It's ANewStory.com.

Maybe you've tried to know God with a smart, sophisticated, self-trusting, adult reasoning. You can't get to heaven that way. The kids sing it "Jesus loves me, this I know for the Bible tells me so." It's time to say, "I'm not going to be able to walk to heaven on my own, Lord. Please carry me."