The New You: Sincerity
Hebrews 10:22 - 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
Robert Fulghum wrote in the Kansas City Times, "Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school.
"These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody . . . When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. " This writer has captured part of what Jesus meant when he said, "Unless you become like little children, you won't enter the kingdom of heaven."
When I look at my two children, things that come to mind are sincerity, innocence, hope, faith, trust, and love to name a few.
Many of the greatest lessons taught by Jesus involved little children, which leads me to believe that young children are the “blueprints of life.”
Matthew 11:25 - 25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
Why is it that God the Father preferred revealing His Son to little children as opposed to the wise and learned?
Matthew 18:1-5 - 1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
Why does Jesus say we must become like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven?
Mark 9:36-37 - 36 He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
Why did Jesus put so much importance on little children?
Children are the epitome of Sincerety!
Have you ever noticed that when children do things, they do them whole-heartedly.
I love to watch Ridge and Fallon play. Ridge will go through around 20 costume changes a day and live out the characters with all his might. We have a large toy box in his room just for costumes. If he’s in character, calling him by his actual name is a grave mistake. He is that character, inside and out!
Then you have Fallon. Fallon is the ultimate shadow. Whatever Ridge is doing, Fallon is right there to do the same. Fallon is the ultimate sidekick. Whatever Ridge is saying, Fallon is doing her best to repeat, though not always as understandable.
Childlike Qualities to live by:
1. LOVE
1 Corinthians 13:13 - 13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
Love like children love. When Fallon kisses me, you can see the sincerity in her whole being that she truly loves her daddy.
Ridge will hold on to me as tightly as possible and say “I love you daddy!”
I believe that is what God the father desires for his children: The childlike nature of calling for Our Heavenly Father and with all of our being showing our love for Him.
That kind of sincerity will bring a true, vibrant relationship between God and humanity.
Not only that, but love for one another.
Ridge goes to school half a day. When I pick him up, the most amazing thing happens - almost all of his classmates rush to him to give him a hug before he leaves.
The reckless abandon they show in their appreciation for one another is the kind of sincerity that Christ wants us to have in our love for one another.
The love we have for God and one another will lead to the next childlike quality we should live by:
2. FAITH
David, a 2-year old with leukemia, was taken by his mother, Deborah, to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, to see Dr. John Truman who specializes in treating children with cancer and various blood diseases. Dr. Truman's prognosis was difficult: "He has a 50-50 chance." The countless clinic visits, the blood tests, the intravenous drugs, the fear and pain--David never cried in the waiting room, and although his friends in the clinic had to hurt him and stick needles in him, he hustled in ahead of his mother with a smile, sure of the welcome he always got. When he was three, David had to have a spinal tap--a painful procedure at any age. It was explained to him that, because he was sick, Dr. Truman had to do something to make him better. "If it hurts, remember it's because he loves you," Deborah said. The procedure was horrendous. It took three nurses to hold David still, while he yelled and sobbed and struggled. When it was almost over, the tiny boy, soaked in sweat and tears, looked up at the doctor and gasped, "Thank you, Dr. Tooman, for my hurting."
The sincere faith this young boy had in his mother and his doctor is the same faith that we must have in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Despite the hardship, David trusted in the love his mother had for him – and somehow knew that the doctor was doing what was best.
Hebrews 11:1 - 1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
Faith perseveres through the unknown. Faith perseveres through the storm.
Faith is composed of the third childlike quality we should live by:
3. HOPE
The one word that brings hope into the Nicar household more than any other is – Mcdonald’s! That right! The promise of the one and only “Happy Meal” brings ultimate bliss to our children. The excitement of the playground gives ultimate motivation for my children to be good!
If we could just have the same hope for the things that really matter in life.
A man approached a little league baseball game one afternoon. He asked a boy in the dugout what the score was. The boy responded, "Eighteen to nothing--we're behind."
"Boy," said the spectator, "I'll bet you're discouraged."
"Why should I be discouraged?" replied the little boy. "We haven't even gotten up to bat yet!"
Children have hope backed up by full assurance.
Colossians 1:23 - But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.
The hope we have not only for this life but for eternal life comes from the assurance that Jesus died for our sins, rose again from the dead, and took the keys to death, hell and the grave!
And in the Revelation that was given to John by Jesus himself, we are assured that “We Win!”
