Come Up Higher

Last night, I wanted to read the Jesus Storybook Bible to Jeshua but he didn't want. He kept wanting to play with his toys. I brought the bible near him but he shook his head. Then he passed me his building blocks, wanting me to play with him.

At first, I kind of insisted that he read the bible first before playing. But I failed. He refused to read.

When he passed me his toys to play with him, I acted like him - a little toddler. I didn't want to. I wanted him to know that there's a time to play and there's a time to read the Word.

An idea came and I tried to put him on his baby chair, thinking that I would be able to get him to sit still and read the Word. Again, it didn't work out. He was crying to come down.

I stood beside the chair while he went around happily in the living room with his toys. I stood there and waited. I kept waiting, in hope that he would come back to me and sit on his chair. Well, he did come back but it wasn't to sit down. He just came, in hope that I would play with him.

I smiled at him and decided that I would bring him back to the master bedroom and played a while with him. Then I picked up the bible and read aloud on my own while he continued to play on his own.

As I was reflecting and praying about it this morning, I realised that I have missed it.

I felt God saying this, "I know you desire Jeshua to read the Word. But you can't force him to do it. Help him by removing the distractions before he sees them. He can't handle them at the moment."

It is so easy to fall into the trap of wanting (or evening forcing) my son to do what is good for him. But what I see as good may not be what he sees as good. As such, it is important for me to lead him into a journey of trust - trusting in his father - that his father knows what is really good for him. Because his relationship with me is measured by how much he trusts me, not by how much he does what he has to do.

As a father, it is my desire to bring him deeper in his relationship with me. This can only happen when he trusts me more and more.

Similarly, God the Father always desires that we go deeper in our relationship with Him. He is saying, "I want to you to come up higher to Me. Trust in Me."

As I stood at the baby chair waiting for Jeshua yesterday, I was reminded that God the Father is constantly waiting for us patiently to go to where He is. While we are busy with our stuff, He is waiting for us.

We grow in our relationship with Him when we go to where He is, not when we stay at where we are. However, He loves us so much that He is willing to go down to our level to meet us where we are, even though He desires to bring us higher to where He is. He is always patient.

Sin or disobedience is a result of a lack of trust in God. Adam and Eve disobeyed and ate the fruit because they didn't fully trust that God has their best interest at heart.

The key to stop sinning is not about trying to stop sinning (I'm not saying that we should sin). The root has to be dealt with. We have to keep running closer and closer to God. The closer we go to Him, the more we see His love and goodness. The more we see His love and goodness, the more we will trust Him. That is the solution to sin and disobedience - TRUST.

I have to learn to gently draw Jeshua to come to me, to come up higher by trusting in me. And I can only do that by first going to him, letting him see and experience my love. The more he sees my love, the more he will trust in me and in what I ask him to do.