Series: Childlike Heart
Message: Childlike Heart
Preacher: Jessyka Albert
Daily Walk: Jessyka Albert

Refresh: Open with prayer. Read or listen to Psalm 118:10-18.

Read: Matthew 18:1-6 (NLT). As you read the New Living Translation, note 1–3 insights.

Reflect: Kids have a lot to learn from us . . . they also have a lot to teach us. Jesus’ example is one that transcends time and space. As His disciples, Jesus shows us examples on a regular basis: whether it’s our own kids, the toddler in the checkout line at the grocery store, or the fourth graders we barely catch a glimpse of as they zoom by on Saturdays. 

Every child is made in the image of God and can teach us more about who He is. Jesus even goes so far to encourage us to model ourselves after children. Grownups, please don’t misunderstand me. I will not be tying your shoes between services or letting you use my office as an arts and crafts studio/secret fort, but I would like to encourage you to start modeling yourself after these wonderfully made kids. 

To understand why kids are the way they are, you have to understand what motivates them. Kristen Ivy and Reggie Joiner have highlighted four motivating factors for each age group.

Today, we’ll focus on what it looks like to be motivated by safety as taught by our preschoolers (ages 0-4). In their book on Phases, Ivy and Joiner explain it like this:
Preschoolers are primarily motivated by safety. So if you try to motivate a preschooler with fear, it may work against their primary motive and lead to mistrust and deception. But when you guide them love, you give a preschooler consistent boundaries in a loving relationship. Then you influence them to trust and respond with obedience to the one who keeps them safe. (124)

Somewhere along our personal timelines, we trade our vulnerability and craving for safety in for a pair of walls and a spirit of fearlessness. Convince me all you want, but behind those walls and mask of fearlessness still lies vulnerability and a need to feel safe. 

Our world is not always the cushy, peaceful place we dream it could be. There are scary things happening right at our doorsteps. When we ignore our natural need for safety, we deprive ourselves of the comfort that comes from the One who keeps us safe.
If we believe that kids our made in the image of God, we believe our God is a God of safety.

Recalibrate: ​​​Make a list of your fears (personal and global).

Respond: Take time to pray over every item on that list that you may find comfort and safety.

Research: Read Business Insider’s Article: “7 Lessons You Can Learn From Kids that Will Make You a More Successful Adult”