“One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so He could lay His hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering Him. But Jesus said, ‘Let the children come to Me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.’ And He placed His hands on their heads and blessed them before He left.” (Matthew 19:13-15 NLT)
What is it about small children that is so endearing? They’re fun-loving, easy to entertain, to make them laugh. They’re quick to trust and believe anything you tell them. Yes, of course, some of those things can be dangerous, especially if our intention is to hurt or deceive them, but that’s the point, Jesus had no such intention. His purpose was and is only to bless and encourage, never to hurt.
Pastor Corky Calhoun wrote: “Accountability, responsibility, and loyalty are still the currency of Christian maturity.” My sense is, those things are also the currency of heaven. Think about those characteristics in the context of children. As a rule, most small children are willing to be accountable to their parents. They want their parents’ affection and approval; they strive to please in a healthy context. As they grow, they desire to help, to be a contributing member of the family. They watch mom or dad cook or clean or iron or do laundry or run errands and they want to participate in those activities.
They wait longingly, sometimes impatiently, for mom or dad to come home after work and they want to interact, play, and share affection with them. They want to share responsibilities, but they also want to share in loving interactions.
They’re also very loyal. Boys want to be like their dad and girls aspire to be like their moms. To a child parents are the epitome of what they want to become. And here’s the irony, most of the time that’s exactly what happens, like it or not, they become the proverbial “chip off the old block.”
But here’s the relevancy to us, why those qualities are the currency of heaven. Unless and until we’re willing to be accountable – to the Lord, certainly, but to other believers we trust and like whom we aspire to become, we’ll never grow in our likeness of Jesus. Accountability is one of the strongest defenses we can build in our battle with Satan.
He will tempt us to believe we’re smarter, wiser, stronger, more spiritually mature than we are and, if we believe his lies, he’ll tear us down quicker in a moment’s weakness than it took us years to grow and develop in our walk with God. Accountability is critical.
But so is responsibility. We must take responsibility for our own spiritual growth and development. Does this negate accountability? No, not in any way. Responsibility to grow and mature as a believer demands accountability, but it also demands we take responsibility for our part in the carrying out of God’s mission on earth in and through the ministry of a local body of believers. Responsible people pick up the slack and do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, in a manner that renders glory and honor to the Lord Jesus.
That’s why loyalty is so essential. If we’re not loyal – to the Lord and to a local body of believers, we’ll bail out when it gets too hard. If we have no loyalty to anything or anyone, we’ll make our own decisions and live like we deem best, which many times is far inferior to the high calling of our Savior.
While I know we need the currency of the area of the world in which we live, the primary currency I want to “collect” is the kind that will spend in heaven. How about you?
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 