Matthew 18:3 “and said, ‘Truly, I saw to you,  unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

In our society, helplessness is more often than not seen as a bad thing.  In light of the “American Dream” culture, we are told you can be and do   anything you want.  Basically the only thing that keeps you from having your dreams is your own effort or lack thereof.  Is this such a crazy thought?  It is easy to blame a person’s lack of perceived   success or a difficult situation on laziness.  The    innate pride in human ability is, I believe, the       primary reason why we often find the modern church so prayerless.  See if we constantly believe we know what to do, then why do we need we to go to God with any situation less than the most   extreme and perplexing.

Like it most often does, Scripture turns this           anti-helplessness mindset, on its’ head.  All throughout the life of Jesus we see people coming to Jesus with their helplessness.  It is this attitude  of helplessness that Jesus seems to praise!     Whether it is the officials son in John 4 or the      crippled man by the pool of Bethesda in John 5, the recognition of our helplessness was seen as      a virtue and not a vice by our Lord.

So what about us?  Matthew 18:3 says that “…unless you turn and become like children, you     will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  This means that we ought to approach God with the helplessness of a child concerning our efforts       toward our own righteousness.

That is only for our moment of salvation right?  Wrong, Colossians 2:6 states “Therefore, as you      received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.”  This means that even if I am a more mature Christian, I must daily remember my helplessness.  I look at my own daughter and although she is growing in strength and ability everyday, Piper still regularly calls for mommy and daddy when she is at a helpless impasse.

When I see my prayer life wane, I know it is always tied to a lack of belief in my own helplessness.  May you and I remember that before a Holy God that  sustains our every moment, we truly are helpless and need him more than just when we are at an    impasse.  Rather we need Him at every moment that we so often take Him for granted. As we soon begin a new year, may we begin to see an understanding of helplessness as the gateway to a relationship with the one who is the least helpless of all.

Pastor Jamie