I was on an airplane flight and I overheard a conversation in the seats behind me. Eavesdropping? Maybe. In any case, there was this boy flying with his Dad and he was full of questions...I mean the little guy. He said, "Daddy, what are all those lights for? Daddy, why did part of the wing go down? Daddy, why is it called Lake Erie?" See, the pilot told us the name of it, but he didn't necessarily tell us why it's named that.
Most of the flight Dad just patiently answered each question. It was a kind of a nice sound to hear! What I especially noticed was the reaction of the boy to the answers that his Dad gave. Some of them, he obviously understood, others he obviously didn't. His Dad said, "Now, do you understand that?" "Well, no." I liked the one about how air holds up the plane. Of course I don't understand that, so how could a little boy be expected to? But each time, no matter whether he understood the answer or not he always seemed satisfied with the answer.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Faith of a Child."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 18. I'll begin reading at verse 1, "At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, 'Who's the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?' He called a little child and had him stand among them and He said, 'I'll tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.'"
Well, you know, for some strange reason, this passage came to my mind on that airplane flight when I heard a curious little boy asking his Daddy questions. He knew who to ask, he knew where to go for answers, and he believed what his Father told him. Even when he didn't understand the answer he got, he was satisfied with his Daddy's answers.
How about you and me? Jesus said we need to be like a little child in order to be in His kingdom. So, are you satisfied with your Daddy's answers? I'm talking now about your Heavenly Father, of course. Jesus said our faith had to be childlike. And that means, "I will see what my Father has to say about this and I will choose to be satisfied. I may not understand my Father's answers, but I'll be satisfied just because I trust Him."
Maybe you've prayed and you've said, "I'm not getting any answer to my prayer." Well, you know, actually, every prayer is answered. God says, "Call unto Me and I will answer you." And He's answering; maybe not in the way you want it; not in the time that you wanted. Could you settle back in your seat and relax in the answer that He's been giving?
Maybe God's Word speaks about the situation you're in right now or the choice you have to make. And it's pretty clear what you ought to do. But it goes against what you're feeling, or it's going against what your family, or your friends, or the conventional wisdom or our culture's telling you to do. You may not like it. Would you trust what your Father says and act on His answer?
See, you and I are still like that little boy, no matter how old we are. We're full of questions about "Why God?", and "God, how come...?", and "Father, when is it going to be?", and "Who?" I just hope you'll be like that boy in another way. When your Father gives an answer, be satisfied with your Daddy's answers.