Let the Children Come to Me

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msnobody
First Presidency
Posts: 834
Joined: Thu Oct 29, 2020 11:35 pm

Let the Children Come to Me

Post by msnobody »

“And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”Matthew 10:13-15 ESV

In his book, Passport to Heaven, Micah Wilder, wrote that as a child, “Time and time again my heart would fill with an engulfing love for God as I contemplated His love for me.”

As he grew older, “My relationship with my creator was drifting from the forefront of my mind as my heart began to pursue the accolades of the world— and my religion. By the time I received the Aaronic Priesthood at the age of twelve, I would often attempt to talk to God as I sat in the field by my house, but something inside me was drastically changing. The religion of my birth was winning; it was capturing my attention and becoming far more strident in my life. The Church’s compulsory obedience contingency that was now imposed on me little by little through the regimented priesthood was slowly supplanting my relationship with God, much like the proverbial frog being slowly boiled alive in water… my mind and heart became more focused on the Church and unknowingly less on God because I was to love Him through the proxy of the leaders of the Church.”

“The deeper I delved into the Church, the farther I drifted from the apparently incorrect childhood notion that I had an intimate relationship with God already. The process to communion with God was no longer direct and personal; rather, it occurred through the authority of the priesthood that now governed, by strict obedience, my standing with God…knowledge of my sins was causing me to turn away from my first love and I started to see through a glass darkly, whereas at one time I saw face to face through the innocence of a child. The more I sinned, the more I was drawn into the Church by seeking forgiveness, and the farther I was being carried away from the outstretched arms of a God full of grace.”

I’ve had several Latter-day Saints describe to me tender spiritual experiences they’ve had as young children of a realization that God loves them, Jesus died for their sins, and unconditional acceptance by God.

Years ago, I heard someone say that when you don’t feel like you’re hearing from God, to go back to the place (In other words, the last time) you heard from Him, or had fellowship with Him.

May we all go back to that place where we communed with God through the innocence of a child.

Agape
The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession... The LORD set his love on you and chose you... The LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery. Deut. 7
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