A Kingdom for Children Elder Fernando Álvarez Guatemala, May 11th Year of Abundance
Luke 10:21 (OSO) In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. The passage above says that the Father hid the spiritual knowledge from the wise and revealed them to children, i.e., God doesn´t always choose those who have great academic degrees, but those who are like little ones to show them His kingdom. A child depends on his parents or on a tutor until he reaches some knowledge, then the child thinks he can do certain things but soon he realizes he is wrong. Children also believe all what they hear, which means they are naive and have faith. We can also be like children regarding faith, namely, to believe all the words of the Lord. Luke 10:20 (OSO) Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. In this verse we clearly see that adults rejoice about different things compared to those things that children seek. As God´s children we must rejoice in the things that come from above, as well as our names are written in heaven. In the book of Psalms, the psalmist asks the Lord to recover the joy of his salvation, which is similar to what the lost son said when he returned to his right mind and realized his condition. When we decide to behave as God´s children, we completely depend on the Lord, as the Bible says: If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him. Children always show their happiness, but unlike us, when we have problems at work or at home, we completely lose our joy. Therefore, if we are suffering a lack of joy, we have to return to the Lord and take some rest in Him to achieve a permanent joy as a child does. I Corinthians 14:20 (LBA) Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature. This verse gives us balance inviting us to grow and to be mature in our way of thinking as the book of Ephesians says, that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine; therefore we must be very careful of what we are listening to which feeds our soul, even the music we listen should edify our lives. There are some children that are like Samson, this is the type of son who thinks nothing wrong will happen to him, he has God´s spiritual gifts therefore he thinks he is untouchable. But we see in the Bible how Samson opened his heart to a Philistine woman, and how she deceived him and made him fell into disfavor. This teaches us that we must be careful when we open our heart lest we fall into Samson´s error. Matthew 18:1-5 (LBA) At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.
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A Kingdom for Children Elder Fernando Álvarez Guatemala, May 11th Year of Abundance
On this occasion the Lord called a little child to teach His disciples about the kingdom of heaven. This passage indicates us that our priority should be our service to the Lord and to our brethren, not a position within the church. The world often uses hierarchies to manage people, but the Lord was the excellent example, because He came to serve, not to be served. In the service to the Lord, it is necessary that those who are in high positions may have communion with those who are under their care. As the Bible says, we should show ourselves as friends to the brethren, because when hard times come we will have their support. Our goal should always be to please the Lord and serve the brethren, if someone forgets this, he will no longer be useful to the Lord. Let´s remember that as a child tends to imitate his earthly father, we must imitate our heavenly Father. Matthew 19:13-15 (LBA) Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” And He laid His hands on them and departed from there. The word of God also says that the Lord took a blind man by his hand and brought him out of the city, which means that we must be guided by the Lord as babes, letting Him take us wherever He desires. He will bring us out of our environment and will lay His hands on us to bring healing. Therefore, if we want to see God working miracles in our lives, we must be as little children. God is continually asking us to give our heart to Him, that is why we need to be humble like children to obey His voice. Sometimes we are not able to see the causes of our problems neither do we see a solution coming, but maybe it is because we are spiritually blinded, therefore the Lord is calling us to believe in Him. We have to be confident that He will bring a solution or an answer to any situation that is affecting us, because He always wants to show His love and mercy toward us. Therefore if we still have prejudices or preconceptions, we must cast them out to be able to see God´s miracles in our lives. Hebrews 4:16 (LBA) Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. In the same way a child comes to his father, we can come to the Lord with confidence, without fear, because He took our sins and made us free through His sacrifice in the cross of Calvary. Our relationship with the Lord should not be only at church but also in the privacy of our home, knowing that He is everything to us, our refuge, our fortress and our help. God wants to remind us that we are His little ones and that He cares about us because He is our Father. Therefore we have to be sure that the Lord is protecting us as a father does with his family if we do His will, as Jesus said: For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother. Humility is a virtue that consists in having the knowledge of our limitations and weaknesses, and to behave according to this knowledge. A child does not think about what people might say when he is doing something despite his limitations. We are like little children when we strip away the prejudices, then we are free to dance for God or cry in His presence.
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A Kingdom for Children Elder Fernando Álvarez Guatemala, May 11th Year of Abundance
The Lord shows His mercy toward us when He uses those who teach the counsel of the word to point out our mistakes and weaknesses, making us see the way in which we can correct our actions. Sometimes we have an idea of what we need to change, but we must know that only through the fullness of the Holy Spirit we will conceive God´s will and be able to understand our circumstances; the Bible says that all things work together for our good. Psalms 138:6 (LBA) Though the Lord is on high, yet He regards the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar. If we want to be close to the Lord we need to be humble, not only before Him but also before the delegated authorities. It is better to choose to be humble rather than to be humiliated by others. Psalms 113:5-6 (LBA) Who is like the Lord our God, who dwells on high, who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth? The heavens and the earth were created by God, they have a beginning and an end, but our Lord is eternal, yet He humbles Himself to behold His creation. The word humbles in the verse above can be translated as reduce, which means that the Lord diminishes, He makes Himself smaller to see us. When Jesus saw His Father doing this, He also humbled Himself, came near His creation and redeemed us, suffering the cross. Who among us is greater than the Father or the Son to decide not to be humble and make ourselves as little children? God wants us to be like children to believe in Him and receive His love and mercy. Philippians 2:5-8 (LBA) Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. The Son does what He sees the Father doing, therefore as God´s children we must do what the Son does, one of this things is to be the light of the world. I Peter 5:6-7 (LBA) Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. He who humbles himself before the Lord will be exalted in due time, not only from the coming of the Lord´s perspective, but in many other circumstances we may be facing. The Lord takes care of us, but we have to be obedient children and do His will. We have to depend completely in our Father and say as Peter said: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” The only hope and future we really have is our Lord, we have no other place to go, nothing can replace the value of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, there is no other that can erase our sins. God is inviting us to come near the door of salvation which is our Lord Jesus Christ, we can only find hope of life in Him, there is always an opportunity for those who need a solution, He is waiting for us with arms wide open like a father waits for his son.
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