What We Can Learn From Children

As I mentioned earlier, we have traditionally conducted the blessing of little children on the second Sabbath after the feast. Now, this is a good tradition because it perpetuates a ceremony based upon Jesus Christ's example. We know that Christ condemned the Pharisees and Sadducees for following the traditions of men. And this is not a tradition of men. It's not a cultural custom. It is based upon the example of Jesus Christ. Now, we have fewer children today to bless, but it is always a very moving and inspiring ceremony. God has chosen children to teach us a lesson. And I think there are a lot of lessons that we might be able to learn. Yet, our society today, many fail to learn this lesson, I think because of sometimes horrible child-rearing practices that we can observe. We've all seen children throwing a temper tantrum in a store. I remember one time Norman Iren toys were us, and some child wanted something.

Parents weren't going to buy it. The child just laid down in the aisle and screamed and kicked. Then I think held its breath and turned red in the face, and trying to get what it wanted. The other day, we were outside of Walmart, and a young lady came out with a child, three or four years old, sitting in a basket. This child was screaming and beating on the cart and yelling, and just through a fit. The mother had no idea of what to do with the child, how to deal with this type of situation. He went berserk, and I think you could tell mom was about to go berserk also because she was just so deeply embarrassed by what was happening. We all understand we live in an age in a society where there could be more training, should be more discipline, more direction, and more love of our children. We live in a society also where children are no longer important, and you find that for people, money, wealth, you know, these type of things are important. They're not concerned about children, and children many times are ignored.

Yet, when Jesus Christ picked up little children, you don't find that they bit him.

That's not recorded. They didn't kick him. They didn't lie down and scream. They were there, and he blessed them. And I know it's a different age, a different society, but yet we have seen so much loss over the last 30 and 40 years. What are the attributes of a childlike attitude that you and I should emulate? What should we learn from them, and what does God want us to learn from children?

Well, let's go over to the book of Matthew 18, beginning in verse 1.

Let's notice several attributes here today, and I'll cover them quickly. And let's notice the first one. At that time, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Matthew 18 verse 1. Who's the greatest?

Now, we just came back from the feast, and the Feast of Tabernacles pictures the millennium. Last great day, you'll picture the white throne judgment. Also, pictures the time when we will be in the kingdom of God. And I want you to notice the disciples are debating among themselves in the kingdom, who's going to be greatest.

You know, the implication is they thought maybe they should be, I think. But, you know, is David going to be greater? Abraham going to be greater?

What was their mind on? They were thinking about power, position, you know, who's going to be in charge. They weren't thinking about service, and giving, and helping. Well, Christ did not immediately answer their question. Notice, He called a little child to him and said him in the midst of them, and said assuredly, I say to you that unless you are converted and become as little children.

Now, the word converted here means to turn around. Unless you change, unless you turn around and become as little children, you're not even going to be in the kingdom, He said. So, you don't have to worry about who's going to be the greatest. You won't even be there. So, you and I have to change. We have to be different.

We've got to become like little children in certain ways, certain aspects. How? Therefore, He says, verse 4, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. So, how does God measure greatness? It's not necessarily who has the greatest position, authority, that type of thing, but those who are humble. And so, we find that one of the qualities that Jesus Christ clearly points out here is to be humble like a little child.

You see, there are lessons that we learn from children. A small child is not worried about what others think or who's the greatest. You've got a baby six months old, he's not lying there, I'm the greatest, I'm the greatest. I mean, it doesn't even occur to him. It's not even in his mind.

All he's worried about is where's the food or change this diaper. You know, that's what he's worried about. He's not worried about what others are thinking. He doesn't care if he has a diaper on, it's cloth, or it's plastic, or whatever it might be, whatever they make them out of today. It's not until children get a little older that they begin to compare themselves to others and begin to judge.

And I think that's happening so much quicker today because of TV, because of the pressure, and you can turn TV on, and all at once, you know, if you're in stat, if you're, you know, somebody who is hip, you're gonna wear this style. So all at once you will find that all the kids go to school and they're all wearing the same style, or they got the same shoe on, or the same type of dress on, or whatever it might be.

Let me illustrate the point. On occasion, a man and his wife were sitting discussing with their children various study school activities around the dinner table, and their 12-year-old daughter observed, quote, it's cool to be smarter than everybody else. So, you know, she's real smug. I'm 12, I'm just smarter than everybody else. Well, they didn't want to miss a teaching opportunity, and so the father said, yes, but if you are, it's good to be humble about it.

To which she replied, yes, and it's cool to be more humble than everybody else, too. So, something was missing here in the teaching. A little baby doesn't care if it has designer diapers on or El Chippos from Walmart. Doesn't care as long as he's comfortable. Now, let's notice in Luke 18, remember, we're talking about having a humble attitude, and that this is part of a childlike approach. In Luke 18 and verse 9, Christ spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. Now, not only did they think that they were righteous, but then they looked down their nose on others because others, quote-unquote, didn't measure up to their righteousness or their standards or the way they lived.

It says, two men went into the temple to pray one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. Pharisee stood and prayed thus within himself, God, I thank you that I'm not like other men. Extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. He probably pointed and looked down his nose and wrinkled up his nose at the tax collector. Why, I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess.

So he tooted his own horn how righteous he was, and then he showed how he despised the tax collector. And the tax collector, standing afar off, could not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house, justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled. So believe me, there will come a day when everyone will be humbled. You either do it now by humbling yourself before God, or God will do it to you at some time in the future.

And he who humbles himself will be exalted. Then immediately after this example here in the Scriptures, we go into the blessing of little children. Then they brought infants to him that he might touch them. But the disciples saw it, and they rebuked him. And Jesus said to them, Let the little children come to me, do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of God.

Assuredly I say to you that whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it. So you and I have to be teachable like a little child. Be humble. Remember, humility has to do with our attitude towards God. It's not walking around with this, oh, real humble looking expression on your face. It means that you realize that God is supreme, and you're nothing, and you need God.

And it has to do with our attitude towards God. God is looking for those that realize us that he called them into the church. He lives in us. We're not righteous or good on our own. We're nothing without God. We need him. And any righteousness and goodness we have, it's because of him and his spirit dwelling within us. So you and I are to have a humble attitude.

Now there's another attitude that God is looking for. Let's go back to 1 John 3 and verse 22. And I want you to think of it from this point of view, too. You and I look at our children, and we're concerned for our children. We love our children, and especially your own flesh and blood. I mean, as Ray brought out, you love all children, but your own children are very special to you because they're your own. They came from the two of you, and you had the responsibility of rearing them and teaching them and guiding them and directing them. You think God has less love for us? Because you see, we are his children, and God wants to bless us. God wants to give us favor and look after us. Well, let's notice here in 1 John chapter 3 and verse 22.

Whatever we ask, we receive from him because we keep his commandments, and we do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

So we try to please God. Do what's pleasing in his sight. Now, have you ever noticed how little children many times will do everything they can to please their parents? Now, we had five boys, and they would go out in the backyard some time and pull a weed, or maybe it would be a flower, and they'd bring it into their mother. They'd give it to their mother, and they'd just beam because, you know, they had this flower. Well, you've got to makeover something like that. You don't say, get out here. I don't want that weed. No, you brought me a flower. Thank you. You know, great. You're the, you know, the greatest, and you can go find something to put it in because you're pleased. They put a little nick in a piece of wood and bring it in and give it to mom or dad, and it's carving. Now, what is dad's attitude toward it? You might remember the routine that Bill calls to be did one time where he said, you know, a kid puts, you know, gets his little pocket knife out and puts a nick in a piece of wood and brings it in, gives it to his dad. Dad says, why are you bringing me that old piece of wood? Get it out of here! And he brings it to the mother. Mom looks at it. She says, you carved that for me? He starts crying, and you know, oh, thank you, and gives the child a big hug, and you know, puts it up in a prominent place. He said, that's the difference between dad's moms, and there's a certain amount of truth in that. As our children would grow up, many times they would color or draw a picture and bring it into us, and it would be, you know, nothing within the lines. Colors didn't match. I mean, they had the crayons, and they were coloring, and they'd give it to you, and again, you appreciate it. It was a thought. It was the love behind it. It wasn't a matter that it was a Rembrandt or a masterpiece. You'd make over, you'd stick it on the refrigerator, oh, that's lovely, and you'd keep it up there, and if one day you took it down, and if one day you took it down, they'd notice, where's where's my picture? And you'd have to bring it back out and stick it back up there. Well, children, little children, are this way. They want to please. They don't have a hostile attitude. Romans 8, 7 through 9 talks about how that as we get older, we can have hostility, that the carnal mind is empathy against God, it's not subject to his law, neither indeed can be. Well, little children haven't learned that yet. Again, a six-month-old child is not thinking, you know, when I get a little older, I'm going to get even with my parents. My mom didn't feed me enough, you know, I was hungry at times. You know, that dad, he never changed my diaper, and you know, so I'm going to get even with him. Or I hate my brothers and my sisters. Just wait till I'm big enough to do something about it. Well, baby isn't thinking about that. A young child doesn't argue with his parents when he's young, when he's in the infant. Now, he's concerned about two things, food and comfort.

Where's the nipple or the bottle? And I'm uncomfortable, take this thing off and let's replace it. You know, that's just their life. Rather than do we argue with God. See, we're his children, and God calls us out of this world. Do we want our own way? Do we shake our fists? Or have we totally submitted to God? And do we follow him in his direction? Notice 1 Peter 2, verses 1 and 2. 1 Peter 2, verses 1 and 2. 2 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, all hypocrisy, and envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby.

See, we all started out as babes in Christ. We're all little children, and we all start out with the milk of the word, the simple, basic, fundamental doctrines and teachings. And we grow from that. Now, we don't remain babies. It'd be funny. You'd have someone like Emily or Amber, here, and they're still in diapers, and your dad brings one to church, and he sets them down, and gives them a big bottle. Well, they'd be embarrassed. In fact, they are embarrassed, if something like that were to occur. And all of our children would. No, we're not to stay babies. We're to grow up. So, we are to follow our Father, His Word, His direction. Now, another thing you notice about children is they don't put on a lot of errors as little children. They're not trying to impress. They're very transparent. You can see right through them. They just say what's on their mind. And sometimes we get embarrassed because of their being so transparent. I remember once Norm and I had company at our home. It was getting late. We had eaten dinner. So, we told the boys to go take their baths and go to bed. So, we're all in the living room. And we've got, I don't know how many people we had there, but we had several people. And one of our sons came walking into the living room, dark naked.

He had taken his bath. He wanted to come in and say good night. And he was too young to be embarrassed. He didn't know he was doing anything wrong. We were embarrassed. He wasn't embarrassed.

As I said, he didn't realize that he was doing something wrong. Well, obviously, the point I'm making is not that it's okay for you to have company over and to be naked. That's not the point. The point is putting on errors and trying to impress. You know, our son wasn't trying to impress. He just did what he normally did. You know, he would do that with us, but we forgot about when the company was there. Now, when it comes to God, let's notice in 1 John chapter 1. 1 John chapter 1 verse 8.

You and I should not try to cover up our faults and our sins before God. We should freely admit to God the way we are and ask for forgiveness. As verse 8 says, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a lawyer, and his word is not in us. One of the hardest things for us to do is to admit when we're wrong.

Now, when it comes to God, if we're not on a regular basis getting down on our knees and saying, Father, forgive me, and laying ourselves open to God and bear to God and asking him to forgive us, we're certainly not going to admit our mistakes with one another. There are times that we do things wrong. We mistreat each other in a manner that perhaps we shouldn't. And one of the hardest things for a human being to do is to admit when they're wrong. We need to be willing to do so. In Hebrews 12, we all make mistakes. We all have faults to overcome, habits to root out.

In verse 9, Hebrews 12, we read this, Furthermore, we've had human fathers who corrected us, and we pay them respect.

Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they, indeed, for a few days chastened us, it seemed best to them. But he for our prophet, that we may be partakers of his holiness. See, God will always correct us for our good, as it says here, that we might profit, so that we can become like him, holy as he is holy. Now, small children are generally not too faced. As I said, they don't try to put on airs. They're not too faced. They call things as they are and as they see them. I've mentioned this to you before. As our children were small, we taught them about what was wrong with Christmas. And there were times we'd get out and drive through the neighborhood, and our children would talk about the pagan lights, but they would say, oh, look at the pretty pagan lights. Well, they were pretty, but they were also pagan.

One of our sons saw a woman once. We were at the Feast of Tabernacles somewhere.

Why is she smoking? Well, you know, I wouldn't have said that, you know, publicly. Why are you smoking? But, you know, children just blur things out because they haven't learned what we call discretion yet. Now, I'm not saying that's what you should do. Every time you see somebody smoking, why are you smoking? But I'm just saying that this is the way young people are. This is the way we are to be before God. We are to be open with God. We are to express to God our appreciation and to repent. It's like a little seven-year-old girl once.

Comlee told her parents that Billy Brown had kissed her after class.

Well, how did that happen? Gasp her mother. You know, how did Billy Brown kiss you? Wasn't easy, admitted the young girl, but three girls helped me catch him.

So, that, so, you know, that sometimes you need help.

Or it's like maybe you've read this before, you know, to show how children will just say sometimes the first thing that comes to their mind. A group of children were asked questions about marriage and dating, you know, things of this nature.

And one of them was asked, how do you decide whom to marry? Well, you can find somebody who likes the same stuff, you know, that you do. Like if you like sports, she should like that. Like you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming. So, you know, if you're going to find a wife, find one who likes sports, and we'll have the dip and chip coming. Another person said, or another kid said, no person really decides before they grow up whom they're going to marry. God decides it all the way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.

That was Kristen. Now Camille, I'm going to ask, what is the right age to get married? 23 is the best age because you know the person forever by then. And then Freddie, who's age six, says, no age is good to get married. You've got to be foolish to get married. I would say there's something going on at home there. Can a stranger tell if two people are married? Well, Derek, age eight, said, well, you might have to guess based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids. And what do you think your mom and dad have in common? Lori, age eight, both don't want any more kids. You know, they've had it. What do most people do on a date? Well, dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough. And then on the first date, they just tell each other lies, and they usually get them interested enough for a second date. And there's a lot of truth to that one.

What would you do on a first date that turned sour? I'd run home and play dead.

Next day, I'd call the newspaper and make sure they wrote about me in the dead columns.

When is it okay to kiss somebody? When they're rich?

Pam, age seven, said that. Kurt, age seven, the law says you have to be 18, so I wouldn't want to mess with that.

Is it better to be single or married? It's better for girls to be single, but not boys, who need someone to clean up after them.

And then finally, how would you make a marriage work? This is Ricky, age 10. Tell your wife she's pretty. I mean, she looks like a truck.

So they're being honest. Now, the point is, we need to make sure that we're honest with God. We're honest with ourselves. God knows who we are and what we're like, but we need to understand. Just like David, back in Psalm 51, in verse 4, if you remember after he committed adultery with Bathsheba, David said against you, you only have I sinned and done this evil in your sight. So God wants us to be open with him, to admit when we're wrong, not to try to hide things and cover them, but just like a little child is open, we are his children. And so should we be open with God.

Another attribute of small children, I'm still amazed at how small children can be happy, excited over small things. It doesn't have to be something big, just something small. They can be happy to go for a ride. You want to go for a ride? You know, they're in the car. Yes, you know, they want to go for a ride.

Or go to McDonald's. Look at all the kids out in the playground playing. Why do you think McDonald's built all these playgrounds so that kids would drag their parents there and, you know, they could play? That's why so many of them end up there. You can buy a toy for your children. And guess what they end up playing with?

The box, right? I remember we lived in Chicago. We had a crawl space back under our basement. We had a couple big boxes like refrigerator boxes or washing machine boxes. I don't know where they got all these boxes, but our boys had 10-15 boxes, big boxes back under there. They had these tunnels that they would crawl through. It was a big labyrinth back there. And they spent hours back there playing. One of the greatest toys a child can have is dirt and a can. I grew up, that's all I had was a dirt and a can. And, you know, you play with that and, you know, it's a car, it's a motorcycle, it's an airplane. You know, it can be anything. It's just according to your imagination. Testimony to that is when they come in at night and you have to bathe them. You know, how dirty they are. So children can get excited even about very small things. How about us? Do we still get excited about the work of God, about God's calling, about the truth, about tithing, supporting the work, serving others, opportunities to help, praying for others, or do we begin to become sophisticated and jaded?

If you do, remember the story about Jamie Scott. Jamie Scott was a young boy. He was trying out for school play. His mother was very concerned because she didn't think that he was going to be selected for a part. He was just maybe too young or whatever the problem was. But he had his heart set on it. You know, this was something he was just so excited and they were going to have tryouts. On the day after the awards, our parts were awarded, she went to school to collect her son. And Jamie rushed out. His eyes were shining with pride and excitement. He said, guess what? He shouted in a lesson we could all learn. I've been chosen to clap and cheer.

Okay, he didn't get a part in the play, but he was going to be in the section over here where they were going to clap and they were going to cheer. He didn't know the difference. He was, you know, he had something that he was assigned. Well, I think sometimes today, children become so sophisticated and so jaded. As children become older today, they've got to have more and more to turn them on. They are exposed to so much television, so many video games, movies, schools, friends. It's hard to hold their interests. If it doesn't go more than five seconds, you know, they lose interest. It's got to be something that boom, boom, just keeps going. Well, you and I have just returned from the Feast of Tabernacles. We've all had God's kingdom in the future painted for us. Do we still have the excitement of that kingdom, new coming, of being a part of that, of being a part of a work today, of a great calling? You see, you and I can go to God, and we know that God is very concerned for us. Let's go back here to Matthew 11, verse 28. Matthew 11, 28. Christ said, Come to me, all of you who labor, are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. God says to come to Him with our problems, our difficulties, and He will help us. You and I know that we will help our own children if they have problems and difficulties. God wants us to come, just like our children come to us. God wants us to come to Him. And does He have less concern for us, less love for us, than we have for our children? Well, we should never forget the excitement of our calling, our purpose of being called, the opportunities that we have now. These are not little things. As I said, a child can be excited over something very small. To be called now, I mean, look at this group. We're a small pitiful group as far as numbers are concerned. And yet, out of this whole area of multiple hundreds of thousands of people, here are a few dozen people that God has called. God has handpicked you, selected you to be His child, to be a part of His family. In 2 Corinthians 6, 17 through 18, He calls us His sons and daughters. We are His children. Now, we have the opportunity, the highest calling, on earth to be able to take the gospel to the world now, and then to be able to help save mankind in the future. So, we have wonderful opportunities. And we should never forget that. We shouldn't let the excitement of what the work is accomplishing, or the church is doing, fade away. And it's very easy for that to happen.

Now, another point. Let's go back to Psalm 131. Psalm chapter 131.

And we'll begin to read here in verse 1. Psalm 131, verse 1. It says, Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty. Or is He saying, I'm not proud, and I'm not arrogant. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me. Surely, I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a winged child from his mother. Like a winged child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth, and forever. We are like winged children. Now, a child will nurse for a year or so. I know Norma tried to nurse all of our children for a year, so that they would have that start. And many of you ladies here have nursed your children. Some weren't able because of various reasons. But once they're winged, in other words, once they're all milked, they begin to eat more solid food. They begin to, you know, grow up as children. And yet, I don't care what age they are, if they're under your care and your responsibility, that if they have a problem, you're there to help them. Who do children go to when they have a bad dream? You have a smaller child and they cry out, and they've had a bad dream. One of our sons once had a bad dream. He thought a bug was after him.

And, you know, he was upset. We went in to see what was going on because he let out this big yell. And he was sure there was a bug. And this bug was going to get him. And there was nothing that we could do except to turn all the lights on in the room. You know, look like Times Square in the middle of the day. And we had to look under the bed in the closet. We had to look everywhere and assure him that every shadow in the room was not a bug. So he'd see a shadow that is that a bug. Well, no, that's not a bug. That's a shadow. And we would show him. And, you know, he finally was calmed down. We've always had a king-sized bed that we sleep in. And it doesn't matter if it's a single bed, double bed, queen-sized king. Norm and I sleep in a spot about this why. But we've always had a king-sized bed. And growing up, there could be a thunderstorm, lightning. We'd wake up in the morning. There'd be four or five kids in bed with us. And they'd be at all angles at the foot and the side, and, you know, everywhere. But they would come and crawl in bed, you know, and be there with you. I remember one terrifying experience I had growing up. I lived on a farm out here about 15 miles from Cleveland. One night I went out. I forget if I had to go out to get some water or something. And it was dark, but it wasn't pitch dark. And I stepped out, and I thought I saw a wolf or a coyote right in the, you know, the border of trees. And I just froze there. I was scared to death. I was paralyzed with fear. I didn't know what to do. Now I thought for sure I'm a goner. You know, he sees me here. I can't move. He's going to come over here and eat me.

Well, after a while, my dad came out to find out where I was and what I was up to. And he walked out, and immediately I was calm. You know, I wasn't afraid at all. In fact, I reached up and grabbed his hand because I knew my dad was bigger than whatever it was that was out there. Now, as my eyes adjusted to the night, I saw it was just some trees or lambs or bushes.

And it wasn't a wolf or a coyote at all. But I knew that my dad was there, and my dad would protect me. Well, brethren, that's the same thing, same attitude that God is looking for in all of us, is it not? That doesn't matter what we're faced with. We may be paralyzed with fear. We don't know what to do, how to act, or how to react, or how to solve a particular problem. We go to God, and we say, help me, you know, and we put our trust in God. We rely upon Him. And God will. What does Psalm 23 teach us?

That the Lord is our Shepherd. I shall not want. God makes us lie down in green pastures. God feeds us. And even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we won't fear any evil. Your rod and your staff are there.

They comfort us. We trust God. We learn to rely upon God. And just as little children, rely upon their parents, so we rely upon God. Whom do our children, or did our children, when they were smaller, turn to when they were hurt, when they were hungry, when they cut themselves, had a nightmare, well, they would always come to mom and dad, because they knew they could get solace, comfort, encouragement, love, and, you know, they would be looked after.

Well, the same thing is true of all of us. Another characteristic of children that ties in, actually, with this is a child is totally dependent upon his parents. Totally dependent. It's an attitude that God is looking for. Too often, all of our lives, we've depended upon ourselves, our own cunning, our own intellect, our own abilities, our own talents, money, whatever it might be to get by. And yet, when a baby is first born, they can do nothing. They are totally dependent upon their parents, or adults, for food, for clothing, for shelter, for protection.

Everything is supplied by the parents. In James 1, verse 17, as God's children, the same thing applies to us, James 1, verse 17, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the fathers of the father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. God supplies our needs. A child proportionately learns more during the first year than any other year of his life.

It's said that a child will learn about half of what it knows that first year. Certainly by the time a child goes to school, it's got the bulk of its knowledge. It adds to that. Now, I think there's an interesting parallel because you and I, when we start out as babes in Christ, when we first learned the truth, we learn half, probably, of what we know very early on, did you not? You remember back when you first heard the World Tomorrow broadcast and you began to read the plain truth and booklets?

Everything you read, everything you heard was brand new, and you were like a sponge. You were like that baby. You would absorb it, and everything was new, and you kept learning every doctrine, every booklet that you read. Finally, one day, started repeating, and, oh, I've read that before. Well, you may have read it, but there was a different angle, different approach, different depth to it, and you learned more. So, just like a little baby learned so much during its early informative years, so we learn very quickly when we come into the church.

And sometimes, a person thinks that they know it all, because, you know, they've learned that. Yet, we have to go on to maturity, and we have to grow, and we continue to learn. Does a child at age five know as much as a child at age 10? And a child at age 10 knows as much as he would at age 15, or age 18, or graduating from college. No, we continue to build on our knowledge, and we add a depth of knowledge. A child may be able to add, then he learns to multiply, then he learns to subtract, and then he learns, hey, there's such a thing as algebra and geometry, and then there's calculus, and there are all of these advanced maths and sciences.

And so, a child begins to grow up, and so it is with us. We're not to remain children. Back here in Hebrews chapter 5 verse 12, Hebrews 5, 12, we referred to this earlier. But notice, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness. He is a babe. So we're not to remain babes, are we? But solid food belongs to those who are of a full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. So you and I, as we grow, as we mature, we have to put into practice God's word, and we grow up.

We don't stay on milk forever. As we read back in 1 Corinthians 14, 20, we're no longer to remain children in understanding. In Malice, yes, but in understanding, no.

Ephesians 4 verse 14 talks about we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro, by every wind of doctrine. But we should grow up. We should mature. A child is constantly learning. There's never a time that we know it all. You and I should constantly study, seek more understanding. And if we think we've got it all, we know it all, you don't know anything yet the way that we should. We all grow. There's not a time that I sit down and prepare a sermon.

That I don't learn something new in going over the Scriptures and studying them and rehashing them and thinking about them and maybe looking at it from a different translation or commentary or different approach. You're constantly learning. God has revealed His truth to us. So we should be like children wanting to learn, eager to learn, being capable of learning, being teachable.

And the last point I'd like to cover with you today is an attitude that children have is a loving attitude, a loving attitude. Children are constantly telling their parents how much they love them, especially when they're young. One of our sons always told his mother that he loved her up to the stars and the moon and back. Now that's pretty high, up to the stars and the moon and back. One said, mommy's my sweetie pie or my darling. Children will come around and they'll put their arms around you and give you a slobber. They'll slobber all over you and you love it.

Yeah, if you ever notice a child trying to learn how to kiss, you give me a kiss and they'll just slobber all over you and you oh thank you, thank you, and you you you're so happy. God gets just as excited as parents do when we begin to respond to him. See, we're his children and we first begin to learn the truth. Too often it's intellectual, it's understanding. You you respond in that way. I want more understanding. You're studying, but there begins to come a point in your life where you begin to stop and think, well, you know, Christ died for me. God the father sent his son and you begin to respond back to God. You begin to show him love. You begin to express to him how much you love him, how much you appreciate him, and what he's done for you. You think that God doesn't appreciate our slobbers because that's the way they are to start with. You know, we start out not really knowing exactly how to express ourselves to God, and that God accepts that and he appreciates that and he responds. You and I are to learn to love one another. First John 4, 7. First John chapter 4 and verse 7 says, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. Now verse 9, First John 4, 9. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent his own begotten son into the world that we might live through him. And this is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also to love one another.

So you and I are to imitate God. We are to try to have the love that he has. Remember the two great commandments. You're to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, or your might. You'll love your neighbor as yourself. It's so easy for us to get so busy that we forget to express love to God. To just say, I love you, I need you, you're my life, you're my dad, thank you for all that you've done for me. Do we ever grow too old for parents to have our children? I don't care if they're 50, 100, to call us on the phone and say, I love you, I appreciate you, dad and mom. My dad grew up and he was not very demonstrable or very affectionate as a man. I think he was like a lot of men back in that generation coming through the time of the Depression. It was a hard life and they just had difficulty expressing their emotion. But when he was 80 years old, we thought he was going to die. He was in Louisville, Kentucky. He was in a coma, had emphysema, liver failure, kidney failure, congestive heart failure, and he was on a breathing machine. The doctor said, well, what do you want to do? So we all sat down and said, dad does not want to be connected to a machine. Unplug him. The doctor said, well, we'll give him one more day, giving him the best chance. At that time, he was only breathing one time out of 12.

Well, during that period of time, we'd been doing this anyway, but during that period of time, we all went in individually and talked to dad, held his hand, told him how much we loved him, how much we appreciated him, what he had done for us, and you just expressed our love to him. Well, they unplugged him, and guess what? He started breathing. And about four hours later, he woke up. He sat up on the edge of his bed, and finally, they pulled the plug, I mean, the breathing tube out, and that had been in there for a few days, so he couldn't talk because of the irritation in his throat. But one of the first things he said, and I was standing there, was, I love you. You know, it was the best he could say. And my dad, after that, never had any problems saying, I love you. And I think that even though he was in a coma, he wasn't totally out. I think he heard everything that we said, and he simply responded to that. He lived three more years and died on his birthday when he was 83. My mom, when she had a stroke, all of us were able to be there and tell her how much we appreciated her and how much we loved her. Well, Brethren, God is the same way when it comes to us. God loves to see us express to him our feelings, our emotions, and how much we love him. Let me just finish here. This may be a little off, but I think it shows what little children sometimes think about God. And as the children of God, we need to think about God also. A fifth grade teacher in a Christian school. Ask her class to look at TV commercials and see if they could use them in some way to describe what God was like. I don't know if you've ever done that or thought about it. One little child said, God's like a bear asperate. He works miracles. The other one said, God is like a Ford. He's got a better idea. God is like a Coke. He's the real thing.

Or God is like Hallmark cards. He cares enough to send the very best. Or God is like Tide. He gets the stains out that others leave behind.

God is like Sears. He has everything. Or God is like Alka-Seltzer. Try him. You'll like him.

Or God is like Scotch tape. You can see him. You can't see him, but you know he's there. God is like Allstate. You're in good hands when you're with him. And God is like Dialstope. Soap, aren't you glad you have him? And then finally, God is like the U.S. Post Office. Either rain nor snow nor sleet nor ice will keep him from his appointed rounds or destination. Brethren, do we express to God, even in simple terms like this, how much we appreciate him, how much we love him, how much we care for him, how much we appreciate what he has done.

You see, God has given us the reproductive process and little children. They're around us all the time to constantly remind us of the attitude that we should have, that he is looking for. You and I need to incorporate these qualities into our life. We need to have a childlike attitude, not in understanding, but in malice. So let's take these points. I don't know if you numbered them, but there were seven points. Let's take these points. Let's incorporate these qualities into our life and become childlike in the right way.