Last month I turned 70.
I’m shocked. I used to think 70 was so old. But now I know it’s not. Sure, my parts are breaking down, some more than others. I feel my knees when I stand up. And it takes me a few steps to gain stride. If I don’t work against it, I slump a bit in my upper back. Recently, an acquaintance asked if I had back problems. 😑 Sometimes it takes me a moment to remember the names of people or things. However, through it all, I feel a bit childlike, and I’d like to grow in this.
We have a couple in our lives whom we’ve known for over forty years. Great friends. They recently retired as missionaries and have settled down in the States. We get together with them at least once a year.
Being the senior of the group, I recently sent them, and my wife, the following message, with tongue inserted firmly in cheek.
Hey friends.
Great news. When you hit 70, everything relaxes. The pressure is off. You get to truly rest, and youth begins to return. You become more childlike and dependent.
All illusions of appearance, affluence, and achievement dissolve in an instant, and the dance toward our true home accelerates. I’m glad to tell my three younger siblings that at 70, true life really begins.
But in the meantime, have y’all seen my keys? 😊
My comments were playful and lighthearted, but I have a growing belief that we can be young hearted despite our age.
Jesus told His disciples, “Let the little children alone… for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14)
Now, in the fourth quarter of my life, I sense a rising longing to understand and embrace what Jesus means when He tells us that His Kingdom belongs to little children.
Lord, please show me what You mean by this. Give me some childlike qualities to build into the rhythms of my life?
Three Childlike Qualities
Visio Divina
What comes to mind first is having the wonder of a little child, to marvel at the beauties of God’s creation all around me. What would it be like seeing spring flowers, green meadows and trees, the ocean, mountains, clouds, stars, etc. as if it were for the first time?
What if God would allow me to recapture the amazement of my first snowfall or the astonishment of seeing multicolored Christmas lights for the first time?
One of the many things I love about my bride is her ongoing childlike wonder at God’s creation. During our brief engagement, a ladybug landed on her hand as we walked along the beach. She stopped in amazement at how creative God is to “paint polka dots on a bug.”
In our 45th year of marriage, I continue to enjoy who God made her to be! 😊
She and I are focusing on some new rhythms to build into our lives from a book entitled Spiritual Discipline Handbook. [1]
One discipline is called Visio Divinia. It’s Latin for “sacred seeing.” The handbook calls it praying with our eyes. [2] I want to do this by:
- Slowing down enough to receive God’s beauty as a gift
- Allowing what I see to be a doorway into noticing God’s presence and giving Him thanks
- Listening inwardly and receiving what He may be showing me.
Humble Dependance
The next thing that comes to mind when I think of being childlike is a child’s total dependence.
I remember around thirty years ago when I witnessed this in my six- month-old nephew, Matthew, as he was being held in my brother-in-law’s arms.
At the time, I was at a crossroads in my career, having just resigned from my corporate job at age 40. I had great plans for what I thought God wanted me to do next, but those aspirations crumbled within weeks of my quitting.
This left me in great debt, with a wife and four children depending on me for our provision. But who was I depending on?
Before I saw Matthew being securely held by his father, I’d been looking at what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33: But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
I had thought, (or prayed) Lord, how do I seek Your kingdom first, because I certainly need all these things?
And then seeing this six-month-old baby. I sensed God impressing upon my spirit, Does Matthew worry about his next meal, or how he will be clothed, or if he has shelter?
No, Lord.
This is how I’m holding you right at this moment.
It was then that I began to understand that God is my provider, not me. He would guide me into the next steps of my journey, providing for us in ways I would have never imagined.
Joyful Adoration
As a child, do you remember experiencing delight when certain loved ones entered your presence? Perhaps it was your mom or dad, a grandparent, an aunt or uncle, a neighbor, or your sibling. Whoever it was, they caused your heart to leap in excitement when you saw them.
Our three-year-old grandson, Zachary, shakes with excitement when we get to spend time together. I think he knows his Pop and BeBe love him dearly. He knows we care, and he knows we probably have snacks. 😉
God has built a longing for relational joy into all our lives. The aches in our hearts are somewhat satisfied by our human loves, but God has designed our innermost being to be satiated only with Him, our Eternal God. He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
The joys of this world are only a shadow of the overflowing joy we experience in the presence of God.
You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever (Psalm 16:11).
Children have a way of experiencing joy that we adults have lost.
No matter what worldly devices we choose to try and fill the void in our hearts, they all end up lacking.
God is our Highest Joy. No worldly idol will do.
Pray
Lord, as I write, I see how many of these attributes of a child You’ve shown me are similar. They all seem to be pointing to staying present and alert as we walk this journey together.
I have a renewed zeal to practice Your presence and to dwell in Your love.
Anything I attempt in my own strength is futile. [3] Please remind me quickly when I settle for living even one moment without acknowledging Your nearness.
Amen.
Reflections
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:1-3).
As my nephew Matthew rested securely in his father’s arms, never doubting his love, this is us. Our Father God loves us even more than the love of all the fathers in the world.
Though people, circumstances, and our adversary may give us great reasons to doubt, one key component of childlikeness is to rest in God’s extraordinarily love for us.
[1] Spiritual Disciplines Handbook by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Inter Varsity Press, copyright 2015
[2] Ibid, page 47
[3] John 15:5
Note: Unless otherwise noted, all referenced Scripture is from the NASB 1995 Version of the Bible.
Other posts in our Everlasting Way Series:
Learning How to Overcome Emotional Numbness
Are we More Like Batman or Spider-Man
Transforming Awareness: The Power of God’s Love
Celebrating with Joy – In Memory of a Friend
Loving without Expecting Anything in Return
Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.
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Nonfiction books by the Author:
This collection of devotionals chronicles a heartfelt journey from a life of striving and self-reliance to one of growing surrender and trust in God.
Through personal stories of family struggles, cancer, grief, and unexpected trials, the devotions show that true, unshakeable joy comes not from perfect circumstances, but from the constant, loving presence of Jesus Christ.
It’s an invitation to learn to let go of our burdens and find growing peace in God’s greater story.
Because joy is rooted in God and is eternal, it doesn’t ebb and flow with the waves of circumstances. In fact, as we grow in our understanding of joy, we can even experience it more acutely when life is hard. Why? Because God uses trials to conform us into the image of Christ. With this awareness, which gives us glimpses of God’s greater purposes, we rejoice because of His masterful work to free us from needing anything but Him.
For these reasons, and many others, joy in the Lord is commanded in scripture. It’s not just a good idea, it’s vital to our journey as human beings. Rhythms of Joy
Novels by the Author:
What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for? Beyond Time
By finding two undelivered letters in an old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowingly set off a series of events which uncovers a plot to wipe out a whole family. Hope Remains
Please Check out the Cola City Podcast . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child in a city.