Who knows best?

We were studying Matthew 19 for school.  A very sad rich man walks away from the Christ when he is told to sell everything and follow Jesus. 

To better grasp the truth of what happened, I talked with my kids about when they were very little—one and three years old.  We talked about the stubborn tantrums both threw.  I told them how I would put them in their rooms when they got really out of control.  They would kick and scream and trash the place in rage.

My first question to them both was, ‘are you still mad at me?’  They laughed.  My daughter says she doesn’t even know why she did it.  Of course not, but it was certainly important to them at the time, right?

Now, with Christ as our Savior, we shall live forever.  Can you imagine in a million years fussing because you couldn’t afford a new TV?  How silly and irrelevant to get upset over something that won’t even last!

Another example we talked about was imagining a toddler bent on putting keys into an electrical outlet.  Momma will pull baby away, say no, and possibly will slap baby’s hand.  But that won’t stop our little tyke!!  He is going to wriggle, climb and clamber his way without ever taking his eyes off that socket.  The truth that the child is missing is that he is struggling to hurt himself. 

How often have we struggled against God to do that thing that would bring us harm?  It is so difficult to give in, relax into the arms that restrain us and trust that He knows best.