Daily Bread

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

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‘Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.

Our faith is precious to God.

When the disciples asked who would be the greatest, Jesus replied that the greatest would be the one who becomes humble like a child, and that God welcomes them.

To have faith is to trust in the faithfulness, or rely on the promises of, someone. A young child has faith in its parents or carers, and in the same way, we are to have faith in our heavenly parent — God. To have faith also means to consciously or unconsciously be humble, for to place one's trust and reliance on God means to relinquish holding on to one's own self-importance. It means a 'letting go' of self.

I once attended a school worship taking place in a church building, and the children sang a song called, "I believe in me," and I absolutely understand the need for self-esteem and self-worth, but it did make me question if leaving God out of the equation was healthy. Is it true that I can do anything if I only believe in myself? In my experience, we need God-esteem and God-worth. Knowing I am valued and precious to God has made all the difference to me and to my life. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Philippi, "I can do all things through christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4.13).

And if his disciples were in any doubt as to whether those with faith were precious to God, Jesus told them a parable about a found sheep. God seeks us, pursues us, and rejoices when we are found, and yes, that includes you.

Holy God
I put my faith in you,
trusting in your faithfulness
and relying on your promises.
Thank you that
when I was lost you
came and found me
and brought me home.
Thank you that
I am loved and
more precious than
I can possibly imagine.
Yours forever.