Children of God

Romans 8:14
"For all who are led by the Holy Spirit are children of God."

We are all called to be Children of God, but the question is: are we behaving in a manner which is Childlike, or in a way which is Childish?

Are we frequently demanding things from God, with an 'I want' attitude? If I remember correctly, in the eyes of a small child, everything belongs to them. If they are holding it, and it's theirs, it belongs to them. If you are holding it and it is yours, it belongs to them. If someone on the other side of the room is holding it, it still belongs to them. If it's on the floor and nobody is using it, guess who it belongs to? Them. Does everything belong to you? Or does it belong to God?

Or do we have a gentle, milder, softer approach to life? Are we giving up the great 'I want' for the even greater 'I AM'? He gave up his throne, to come into a wolrd full of pain, suffering, fear and hatred, knowing what would happen while he was here. He gave up his life for you, for me, for everyone. So the least we can offer him in return is nowhere near what he deserves. We should be giving our lives to him, giving our all to him, with grace and humility.

"For this is what
I'm glad to do
It's time to live a life of love
That pleases you
And I will give
My all to you
Surrender everything I have
And follow you
I'll follow you."

But sin is like rain. Sometimes it doesn't take long to dry out, like short showers, sometimes you're soaked through for long periods of time, drenched. Then out comes the SON, and dries up all the rain. You start afresh, but how long is it until the next downpour?

Out of Your Depth

"Cause I'm in too deep, and I'm trying to keep
up above, in my head, instead of going under"

Feels like that sometimes, doesn't it? Like you're in way over your head and are struggling to get back to the shallower end of the pool.

Picture a quiet lake stretching out before you. There are stepping stones going halfway across the lake. You have two descisions:

1) Run across the stepping stones, then jump in, and try to swim from there.

or

2) Wade through the water slowly, gradually getting used to the depth, then moving on.

Lets say you choose the first option, and run very fast across the stepping stones. You dive in at the deep end, not realising quite how deep it is, until it's too late. You jump in, and the water is way over your head. You rise back to the surface, spluttering and choking. You panic, and are forced to turn back, because you're scared, and uncomfortable.

Or, you choose the second option, wading slowly through the water, pausing for a few seconds after each new measure of depth. You go from ankle deep to knee deep. From knee deep to waist. from waist to above your head. You've had time, had a chance to get used to the water level, and are comfortable.


Going deeper with God is just like going deeper in a lake. Although stepping stones, skipping parts of the journey, seem much easier and more comfortable at first, you've not had the chance to become comfortable in the water, in God's presence. If you jump in at the deep end, it feels awkward and uncomfortable. Which is why God will only take you as far as he knows you are ready to go.

However, we mustn't get stuck in the same place, or weeds of sin will grow around our feet, holding us back from moving closer and going deeper with God.

The river from the temple (Ezekiel 47:1-6)
"The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He then brought me out through the north gateand led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was flowing from the south side.
3 As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water which was ankle-deep.4 He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. 5 He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in- a river that no one could cross. 6 He asked me 'Son of man, do you see this?' "