Wanda Mann

Jesus said, "That unless we change and become as a little child, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven". (Matthew 18:3)

Don't worry; I'm not returning to my literal childhood like a magical time warp out of reality!  That would be denial (and probably insanity!).  But I have desperately desired to know the purity and total acceptance of who God made me to be and to know the abandonment of self and peace that comes with trust.  In this picture of myself as a child I see such confidence, such joy and laughter; things I possessed without even knowing they were there.

I am going to say something that may seem obvious to you, but has actually been one of my greatest stumbling blocks to freedom; 'You have to see, to see'.  Another way to say it would be, ‘You don’t know what you don’t know’.   Let me explain.  Jesus did not just say that we needed to become like a small child, but that we needed to change and become like a small child.  If I couldn’t perceive the need for change, how would I ever change?

Hindsight may be pretty clear, but perception is often cloudy.  Somehow without even noticing it, I had grown old and forgot.  Somehow I had opened the door to things like fear and arrogance, and closed it the truth and love.

Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 13:12.  Listen to what he says:
“We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!”(The Message Bible)

God does not expect us to “see” it all at once.  In fact, my husband once pointed out to me that if I could see everything that God wanted to deal with in me... I'd probably die :).  That’s His job and He is the only one capable of bearing everything; in fact, He bore it all years ago on the cross.  He is the One that is all knowing, not me.  It has been enough for me to ‘get it’ one step at a time for God knows that it would have crushed my spirit to see all my need in one instance.  We are all on a journey.  Our responsibility is to listen for that knocking, for it never stops.  He comes at just the right time to sit and have a meal with us; to nourish and teach us if we’ll let Him.  God knows what we can bear.  He is wisdom and He is love and His desire for us is to love and be one with us.

There is an interesting example that God gives us in scripture regarding this.  God was giving instructions to the Israelites before they entered into the Promised Land.  This land was occupied by a lot of people and would need to be conquered.  He explains to them that He would go ahead of them causing the occupying nations to leave but, He would not do it all in one fell swoop.  Listen to what God says to the Israelites in Exodus 23:29-30:

“I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land.”  (New King James Version)

Don’t you just love God!  You see if this was up to me, I would have planned a mass invasion to get in and get settled as fast as possible; you know:  'Get on with the program' kind of thinking!  But what God in His wisdom knew, is that they would not have been able to sustain everything and hang on to the land.  They needed to move slowly and strategically as He led them, getting rooted and established, growing and then moving to the next phase of advancement.

Our human limitations are known to God.  He knows what we can handle and will only work to benefit us. and will always work to benefit us, leading us ‘little by little’ or ‘from glory to glory’. 

Our responsibility is to be willing to simply take a step toward Him and ask Him what He wants to show us today; that we open the door, let Him in and let Him lead.

Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.   Revelation 3:20

...more's coming.