a child's love

Often, I find myself wanting to be a child again. Or rather to be like a child again.

I wonder what it would be like to have such absolute trust and innocent faith. Or to truly love with no strings attached. As adults, we tend to get cynical, wanting proof before we’ll believe, perfection before we’ll trust and reciprocity before we’ll love.
No wonder Jesus loved the little children.

Our middle son is at the age where he can vocalize his feelings, good and bad. Sometimes, he comes up to me and tells me, quite matter-of-factly, “Mom, you’re the best mom I ever met!” Then, I melt. Isn’t it precious that he actually believes that? He hasn’t been tainted by my shortcomings yet, and is still so innocent and so confident in what I can do.

Wouldn’t it be great to have that much faith in our own Father? Wouldn’t He love to hear from us - “Lord, you’re the best friend, the best father, the best comforter, the best everything I ever met!”

I wish I was as confident in my Father as my son is in me. In my heart I know He can do anything, but my head finds that difficult to believe sometimes. It really makes no sense considering the Lord has never yelled at me, spanked me or made me sit in a time out. (He disciplines me, but that’s a topic for another issue). He has never failed me and yet so often I fail to acknowledge that.

It begs the question – why is it so hard for an adult to have complete faith in God and true love for God? And why is it so easy for a child?

My son often tells me, “I love you so much and very much!” and then gives me a big squeeze.

Do I love him because of what he does for me? Of course not. He would never receive my love because I’d be so angry with all his bickering and the thanks I don’t get for kissing boo-boos. Instead, I love him because he’s mine. It’s all about the relationship. I’m his mother, so he loves me. He’s my son, so I love him.

Once we recognize that we have that same familial relationship with God, we should be able to say, “Lord I love you so much and very much!” and not base our love on what He’s done for us, but on who He is.

God would never love us based on our actions. We would never deserve His love; we’re simply not good enough. He loves us because we are His. We should love Him because He is our Father.

It should be as simple as that.

But, it's not. I wonder sometimes if we don't let our brains get in the way - limited capacity though they have. Or maybe it's our hurts and emotions that hinder us. Makes me wonder who's more "intelligent" after all.