Unless you become as a little child The world is full of noise. We fill our soul with so many distractions. From books to movies to television to computers our mind is constantly being filled with information and clutter. It takes work to put it in and it takes work to be set free. The mind of a little child is clutter free. It is open and receptive to all that is around. There are few words and much fascination. Education which fosters facts and information, association and concept is how we learn to connect thoughts and engage in worldly activity, yet as an adult God wants us to become like a little child again. When we begin to practice stillness and silence words flow from the silence and not from the soul. Words spoken from the silence have power. Words spoken from the silence have wisdom. Life lived in the Spirit has joy and peace and love. Jesus came to give us life abundant and full. He came to take away our sin so that we might live in the Spirit. By taking away our sin he freed us from lust, fear, anger, hatred, jealousy, envy, lying, and greed. When we are free we can begin to live in the Spirit. We can begin to learn how to listen. We can begin to disengage from the world and enter a realm of glory. We can experience that glory when we forsake the world and live in simplicity. Simplicity is peace. Simplicity opens up the soul to receive not from the world but from God. God wants us to have a spiritual life not a life of religion. A life of religion is a life of law, of rules and ritual and rigidity. Life in the Spirit is a life of fluidity, a life of harmony and freedom. There is no condemnation, no fear of punishment, no shame or guilt or burden. It is a life of a child. When you are born again our spirit is set free. When we know Jesus who is the truth, we come to know the truth and the truth will make us free. God wants us to be free, free from burden, free from sin, and free from clutter. You can begin to disengage from the world by communing with nature. From birds and flowers, to trees and wind, and rivers and oceans we can learn to become still. Rather than filling our soul with more information, we can learn to hear from the silence. We can learn to live in the Spirit where all wisdom, all truth, all knowledge, resides. We can learn how to love from the heart and not from the flesh. Begin the life of the Spirit. Listen to music without words. Read little and listen much. Practice presence not activity. Hear the still small voice of God. Then life will flow from the Spirit. Words will flow from the Spirit. Love will flow from the Spirit and you will become a little child again and enter the kingdom. Amen |