By Laya Onizuka
Matthew 19:14 “Allow the little ones to come to Me…for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Amplified Bible)
When I take time to leisurely read God’s Word together with my multiple aged children and open up to discussion and application of His Word, I am blessed! I may have selected a particular passage to read in order to instruct my children about a particular area I think we need to deal with; however, God takes over and reveals hidden secrets, satisfies our thirsty souls, and can bring a lot of joy and laughter as well.
When I was a child full of questions and directed them to my Pastor or Sunday School teacher, I was always told, “One day when we are with Jesus all those questions will be answered.” The children of today have the internet to attempt to do that a little bit quicker. But truly, the answers are embedded as jewels in God’s word. We may have overlooked them in our desperate search for answers to our pressing needs. However, with children along, leading us into the kingdom of God, we can see the sparkling jewels hidden in cracks. For example, I often wondered what happened between the story of Joseph and Moses. I basically relied on my memory of Sunday school classes long ago and children’s Bible stories as well as movies on the subject.
Hmmm … as my children pressed me to fill in the gap, I had to carefully search the scriptures. To my delight I found out the link between Joseph and Moses! And I found some other wonderful insights that corrected my erroneous storing of God’s word in my mind. I thought that all of Joseph’s brothers hatefully and jealously sold him. I never questioned that “story”. But this time, alongside my children, I found out the struggle in the heart of some of the brothers and the determination of others to rescue Joseph or find better alternatives than his death. My children and I were able to follow the lives of these brothers and see their life consequences and blessings. I was overjoyed!
I encourage you to take a field trip into God’s word. You won’t need to take a water bottle…the water gushes everywhere into your soul!
Prayer: “Heavenly Father, thank you for our little guides in your kingdom. They’ll splash in your living water! They’ll see little treasures along the way and add them to their heart’s collection. And they’ll make the grown-ups climb mountains they never dared and see sunsets they never imagined!”