Cheryl Rondorf
Today, we read about a little child being used as an example by Jesus as to what we should all aspire to: not greatness but humility. A quote from Matthew Henry states: “Children, when very young, do not desire authority, do not regard outward distinctions, are free from malice, are teachable, and willingly dependent on their parents.” And that is how we need to be with our Abba, Father.
We are very fortunate to have members who very dedicated to make our Children’s ministry exceptional (in more normal times!). Who hasn’t seen a small child clutching their precious craft to their chest as their parents usher them along? And who hasn’t picked up a left-behind craft and tried to figure out what to do with it?
We are all God’s “little ones” so how can we cause each other to stumble? Social media comes to mind. Would you want your posts or exchanges to be up on the screen on Sunday morning? Is your discipling mindful and gentle with appropriate scriptures or is it harsh and a knee jerk reaction?
Do we lose sight of the preciousness of our relationships and it’s like the lost craft in the back of the car? Take time to take stock!!!

Neil Rondorf

Much of this chapter deals with personal relationships after a challenge of faith. The idea of childlike faith should really make us stop and think how we view or develop our faith. A strong childhood faith trait is to focus on self. I have a picture of one of our children , as a toddler sitting on the kitchen floor surrounded by the contents of a Chips Ahoy bag. Every cookie had one bite taken out of it. I doubt very much if the child was tasting flavor variations. I suspect the motivation was to take a bit out of every cookie so that no one else would eat the cookie - they had been claimed. The focus on self is a strong character trait and needs to be trained and fashioned to be Christlike. In each of the examples of the lost sheep, the broken relationship, the forgiven but unwilling to forgive debtor, the key to progress is seeing the need on the part of the other person. If we focus on self, we see only the impact on ourselves which does little to help others. Jesus calls us to look for the needs in others and actively work to helping those around us. See the need - meet the need.