Thursday 3 April 2014

Can we re-invent the “teacher-teacher” game?


Everything is a “must” when I don’t feel loved. Everything feels like a chore when I didn’t have enough time with God and I don’t feel like His little Princess anymore. Do you have mornings where everything seems like drudgery? Do you labor and toil on your list of chores, but get very little done by the end of the day? Days like that leave me very unsatisfied and somewhat stressed out and it must have been on a day like that, that I’ve decided that adulthood seems a little overrated. Don't get me wrong, I like the liberties that come with being "grown up", but there is a price we seem to pay. So just bear with me for a moment.

A while ago, during a bible study, I discovered that Jesus loves children. It says so in the bible and from what I have read, it seemed to me that He loves them especially. Naturally, being a mom and not a child, I wondered: But does He love adults too? If you were a seasoned Christian you’d probably say - of course! But I am not a seasoned Christian quite yet, so I focused on His special heart for children and that He seems to want us to be like them.

“Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 18:3 (NLT)

That sounded a bit harsh and it made me think about why Jesus loves children. What do the children do that He likes so much? I decided to ask the children in my bible class and here are some of the answers we came up with during class:

"Children play, they have fun and they laugh a lot. They learn pretty much all day long. When children fight, they most often make up and the next day they don’t worry about that fight anymore. Actually, they don’t worry about many things at all. Most children also have no troubles at all to believe in and respect God, much like they respect their teacher. Children help each other when help is needed and most importantly they pray. But how do they pray? They don’t only pray on their knees, they talk to God throughout the day, in various imaginary games, such as “teacher-teacher” or when the boys wrestle their cushion at home."

I wondered. How many of these things do I still do? May I ask? How many of these things do you still do? Do you give yourself time to play and have fun? Do you still laugh? Are you still willing to learn all day long? Learn to be a better mother? Learn to be a good friend? Learn from our most incredible example, our “most bestest” teacher ever – Jesus? Do you talk to God all daylong or just when you need Him to help you out?

If the answer paints a little bit of a grim picture, please do not feel condemned or in the slightest bit accused. That is not what I want you to think or feel. What I want you to do though, is to remember. What was it like to be a child? What was your life like without all the unnecessary things? Things we should not really be worrying about. Things we cannot change anyway. Things that use up our energy and give nothing back.

This very moment I am picturing myself sitting next to you, trying to remember my carefree childhood days also, and sitting next to you I would whisper to you, “Jesus does have a special heart for children including YOU and me!” In that special moment I would love nothing more than for you and me to understand, that perhaps, in that Scripture, He was giving us permission to be a little less “adult” and a bit more “childlike” instead.

In many of my posts I have tried to encourage you to spend more time with God. Having a “quiet time” is what we usually call it. I don’t mean to treat the term frivolously, but it does sound rather boring at first, especially to a new Believer who doesn’t know what to do. If you are such a new Believer, remember what I just whispered…"Jesus loves the child in you especially!" If you are not in the mood for some serious bible research today, but you would like to hear from God in some other way, perhaps it is time to re-invent that game. That “teacher-teacher” game we played so often "way back when", but on a very personal level, alone with God.

But this time you don’t need to assemble your entire household of teddy bears, like my 9 year old daughter usually does, and teach them math. What you could do, however, in the very same way, is make yourself a cup of tea, sit down and simply say, ”Lord, I am here. I am listening. You be the teacher.”

It might feel odd the first time. But I have tried. Trust me, when I say, that after a few awkward beginnings, I have had the most wonderful playtimes with God!

 “Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvellous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.” Jeremiah 33:3 (MSG)

That promise, I can testify, is so true! He is waiting for you mom. He’s ready for you to play. Are you ready? Are you willing to give Him some time today? Are you at least curious enough to try it out? When you do, I wish you a wonderful “teacher-teacher” time!

Picture courtesy of www.morguefile.com

2 comments:

  1. Thank you Sue. As you said, it's a confirmation of my devotional post, Be Still. http://tinyurl.com/pajufeb It's so easy to write about, and it's so hard to put into practice!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Indeed! It's not always easy to put into practice, but so worth it once you start! :)

    ReplyDelete

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