better Daddy

Micah continues to WOW us with his thoughts on life. And His questions! The things that run through the mind of a five year old are scarier than things that run through my mind (which can be pretty intense and scary at times!) We have had all sorts of questions lately, including; Why are bears bad animals? How does the chick get inside the egg? And how do babies come out? But my favorite this week was two fold.
Podcasts are a big deal in our house. And my kids are learning to LOVE preaching. If we are in the car, they are listening to some sermon and it is funny how much my five year old listens and asks questions. On the way to church this week, we were listening to a preacher who was talking about God being Jesus' Father. And out of no where, Micah chimes in to the conversation.
"Mom, is there a better Daddy than God?"
Now, I can guess where the question came from. I am sure he was thinking that Joseph was Jesus' Daddy, after all, that is what the Bible says and we have taught him. So how can God be Jesus' Daddy and is God a better Daddy than Joseph? Not to mention, I am thinking he thinks his Dad is pretty cool and I figured that fit into the equation somehow. So I asked him what he meant.
He replied, "is there a better Daddy than God?" Since I got no more information, I decided to run with that....
"No, Micah, God is the best Daddy ever. And, He is our Daddy as well."
"How can God and Daddy be my Daddy?"
Now certianly, I could have talked about God, the Father and the contrast between Him and the Father of lies-the enemy of our souls. I could have explained how God made us and has the right to be our Father. But instead, I decided to explain the gospel in such a way that maybe he might actually understand. "Well, God desires that we live to listen and obey Him. And when we choose to follow Him, doing all He says to do and when we Love Him with all our hearts, He comes into our lives and tells us how we should live. He becomes our Daddy."
Thinking, I had done a pretty good job at the Daddy question, I waited for his reply.
"I am not so sure about the listening and obeying part, but I want Him to be my Daddy."
I laughed, because I realized how honest his answer was and how much it represents most of us. We want God to be our Father, but we are not so sure about the listening and obeying stuff. We want the salvation without the obedience.
So I asked Micah, "You don't want to listen and obey God?"
He replied, "yeah, I do-because I Love Him and want Him to live in my heart."
The Scripture says that a child shall lead us....and while the honesty of his heart so represents us, he already recognizes that if we love Him, we will obey-even when we are not sure that is what our flesh wants to do.
Micah has the faith of a five year old. It will grow and mature. But the Word says that there are many who remain in this state-babes, never maturing. How odd it would look to have churches full of 35 year olds that never progressed mentally passed the age of five. How strange would it be to think it normal for 50 year olds to have never matured past the five year old standards.
Is there a better Daddy than God? Of course NOT! But sometimes we allow the enemy to make us think there is. Maybe it is time we grow up IN HIM and listen and obey-even if it isn't what WE want, because our love for Him is so strong that nothing else matters. ALL FOR YOU