Thursday, 7 October 2021

Title: Learning from a Child
Pr Mark Tan

Mark 10:13-16

Believe it or not, the earliest to wake up in my family is not my wife nor I, but my youngest, Nadia, who turned one year old recently. Like clockwork, she wakes up the moment the sky begins to lighten up, roughly six-thirty to seven in the morning, after which she excitedly beats my body to wake me up and begin my day. Why me and not my wife, some might ask? Well, she’s excited to join me, and by that, I mean making me carry her with one arm while I do my morning routine of coffee, wash and brush up, and getting ready for the day. It’s not that she only looks forward to breakfast, but she even looks at me with great interest as I brush my teeth, every day! Even when I have my quiet time with God, she either quietly plays around my feet or even sits quietly on my lap as I read His Word. Today’s reading made me thankful as not only would I enjoy Nadia’s time with me, but she’s teaching me something about how I should receive the Kingdom of God.

In today’s reading, Jesus teaches that “anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Taking the double negative out, Jesus is saying that I should receive the kingdom of God like a little child in order to enter it. How does one do that? Jesus actually exemplifies the lesson by receiving the children, placed His hands on them and blessed them. The trick is not to look at the people passing the children to Jesus, nor is it assuming any inherent humility the children might possess. Rather, it is observing the child’s trusting spirit and willingness to be dependent and receive from others like a blessing from Jesus.

Which brings me back to Nadia. When she wakes me up and follows me through my morning routine, she does not have an agenda of her own, nor does she have any expectations for me to do anything different or even just the same. She is simply content and happy for the ride as I carry her, the simple breakfast that I feed her, and the soft cushion of my belly as I read His word. It is her trusting spirit that I give her only good things, and willingness to be dependent on me to do things for her, that Jesus is wanting me to learn.

As much as the world makes us sceptical of and pessimistic with one another, the beginning of freedom in the Kingdom of God starts when we willingly trust in Jesus and dependently receive eternal life from Him like a little child. Let Him take you wherever He wants you to go and feed you with the food of His word. Be content in sitting in His presence and all the love that He has for you. So, whenever you feel as though life seems so difficult and you can’t seem to find a moment of spiritual peace and respite, take a moment to observe an infant’s trust in his parent, and do the same in your trusting in Jesus.

Let us pray:
Almighty and everlasting God, You who are always more ready to hear than we are to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: pour upon us Your abundant mercy, and forgive us when our pride makes us afraid to trust in You. Teach us to receive all the good things You give us by grace, like a child receiving goodness from his parents, building our dependence in You against the backdrop of worldly fears and deceit. This we ask and pray in Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

班底浸信教会
每日灵粮
2021年10月7日，星期四

题目：“ 学像孩子”
作者： 陈燕靖传道
翻译： 黄姐妹
经文： 马可福音 10:13-16

耶稣为小孩祝福
13 有人带着小孩子来见耶稣，要耶稣摸他们，门徒便责备那些人。 14 耶稣看见就恼怒，对门徒说：“让小孩子到我这里来，不要禁止他们，因为在神国的正是这样的人。 15 我实在告诉你们：凡要承受神国的，若不像小孩子，断不能进去。” 16 于是抱着小孩子，给他们按手，为他们祝福。

信不信由你，我家最早起床的不是我的妻子也不是我，而是最近刚满一岁，我最小的女儿Nadia。就像人行闹钟一样，她在早晨天刚亮的那一刻醒来，大约是早上六点三十分到七点，然后她兴奋地敲打我的身体，把我叫醒，开启了我的一天。

有些人可能会问，为什么是我而不是我的妻子？嗯，她很喜欢让我用一只胳膊抱着她一起参与洗漱和刷牙及喝咖啡，为新的一天做好准备。她不是只盼着吃早饭，每每刷牙的时候还饶有兴致地看着我。即使在我灵修的时候，她也会在我的脚边静静地玩耍，在我阅读神的话语时安静地坐在我的腿上。今天的阅读让我很感激，因为我不仅会享受 Nadia 和我在一起的时光，而且她还教我一些关于我应该如何接受上帝的国度的事情。

在今天的读经中，耶稣教导说：“凡要承受神国的，若不像小孩子，断不能进去。” 除去双重否定，耶稣是说我应该像小孩子一样才能承受神的国。如何做到这一点？耶稣实际上通过接待孩子，将他的手放在他们身上并祝福他们来体现这一课程。诀窍不是看那些把孩子交给耶稣的人，也不是假设孩子们可能拥有任何与生俱来的谦卑。相反，它是观察孩子的信任精神和依赖他人的意愿并全然的接受，像领受耶稣的祝福一样。

这让我回想到了Nadia。当她把我叫醒并跟着我完成早上的梳洗和早餐时，她没有自己的日程安排，也不期望我做任何不同甚至相同的事情。我给她吃的简单早餐，把我肚子当柔软的垫子一起完成灵修，当我抱着她完成任务时，她对我的引领感到满足和快乐。
她愿意依靠我为她做事，就是她信任的精神，我只给她好的东西，耶稣希望我学习这点。

尽管这个世界让我们彼此怀疑和悲观，但当我们心甘情愿地相信耶稣并像小孩子一样依赖他从他那里获得永生时，上帝国度的自由就开始了。让他带你去任何他想要你去的地方，并用他的话喂养你。满足于坐在他的面前，享受他对你的所有爱。所以，每当你觉得生活似乎如此艰难，你似乎找不到片刻精神上的平静和喘息时，花点时间观察婴儿对父母的信任，并运用在你对耶稣的信任上去面对任何的事。

让我们祈祷：
全能和永恒的上帝，你聆听祷告的意愿总多过我们对祈祷的热诚，并给予比我们所希望或应得的更多：将你丰富的怜悯倾倒在我们身上，当我们的骄傲使我们害怕相信你时，请原谅我们.教导我们接受你通过恩典赐给我们的所有美好事物，就像一个孩子从父母那里得到好处一样。在世俗的恐惧和欺骗的背景下建立我们对你的依赖。这是我们在我们的救主耶稣基督里祈求和祈祷的；与你和圣灵同在并掌权的那一位唯一的上帝，在永恒的荣耀中。直到永远。阿门！