I love being a dad. It’s not an easy job, but it’s the most rewarding one I know of. One of the best parts is having toddlers. They are easy to entertain, and their laughter spreads like wildfire. When my oldest daughter was about four, and her little brother about two and a half, we made a landing pad out of pillows on my bed. I picked up my daughter under her arms so that she was facing me. Then I tossed her so that she landed back-first on the pillows. After she climbed down, I picked up my son and tossed him in the same way. We were all very excited.
The next time I went to launch my daughter, she put her arms back, feeling a little afraid, and tried to catch herself. That made me nervous. I didn’t want her to land on her arm, and hurt herself. I instructed her to keep her arms crossed, and reminded her that I would keep her safe. Despite her apprehension she persisted in the adventure.
When I threw my son, his arms were perfectly limp, and his face showed pure exhilaration. He was totally unhindered by fear. His thought process was much more rudimentary. He just knew that dad would take care of him. I instantly remembered Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:
Truly I say to you, unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. So whoever will humble himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:3-4
My kids were a powerful representation to me of what it means to humble ourselves like little children. It means to trust God and obey Him, knowing that He is a good father. What makes this difficult, is that like my four-year-old daughter, we are shrewd enough to know that sometimes life is painful. Fortunately we don’t have to be oblivious to pain in order to be childlike, we just need to trust in our Heavenly Father. His promise to all who belong to Him, is that He will keep us safe. Not safe from pain and turmoil in this life, but ultimately safe in His presence for eternity.
