March 4
Adulthood often teaches us to distrust our instincts.
It teaches us to hide our needs, build emotional walls, and fear vulnerability. We internalize the subtle message that love must be earned, approval must be maintained, and our worth varies with our performance.
And so, without realizing it, our approach to God starts to mirror the approach we’ve learned from the world: We come cautiously. We come conditionally. We come apologetically. We come feeling like a disappointment.
But this is not how children connect with their parents. Nor is it how the Father invites us to connect with Him. A childlike heart remembers something adulthood forgets:
Love comes first.
Belonging comes before behavior. Identity comes before transformation. Abba comes before obedience.
The Father does not bless us because we are childlike. We become childlike because we are blessed.
Becoming Childlike Again: Page 12
It teaches us to hide our needs, build emotional walls, and fear vulnerability. We internalize the subtle message that love must be earned, approval must be maintained, and our worth varies with our performance.
And so, without realizing it, our approach to God starts to mirror the approach we’ve learned from the world: We come cautiously. We come conditionally. We come apologetically. We come feeling like a disappointment.
But this is not how children connect with their parents. Nor is it how the Father invites us to connect with Him. A childlike heart remembers something adulthood forgets:
Love comes first.
Belonging comes before behavior. Identity comes before transformation. Abba comes before obedience.
The Father does not bless us because we are childlike. We become childlike because we are blessed.
Becoming Childlike Again: Page 12