Climb In

Mark 13:15
"....anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it."

This fatherhood thing provides me more and more depth into my spiritual journey every day. This morning my nearly 2 year old son taught me about child-like faith.

I really enjoy hiking. This past spring, I decided it was time to take Ethan with me, so I bought one of those child carriers / backpacks from REI. I love it! There's nothing like traipsing through the middle of the woods with my son.

This morning, I asked him if he wanted to go hike. He repeated "hike" back to me, and for reinforcement, he then said "outside." So off we went. There's some good nature trails about 15 minutes away. When we got there, I put his pack out and asked him if he was ready to go. He immediately started to try to climb in; he knew I was going and he wanted to be along for the ride.

One thing about walking through the woods, it gives you plenty of time to think. I start imagining this scene (again with a 2 year old who doesn't quite speak sentences yet):

Me: Ready to go, Ethan?
Ethan: (With a puzzled look on his face) Where to?
Me: Hiking at the park.
Ethan: Um, how are we going to get there?
Me: Car, of course.
Ethan: Do you have money for gas?
Me: Yes.
Ethan: Have you checked the tires recently?
Me: Uh, sure.
Ethan: I don't know, Daddy, I'm not sure if I'm ready to go hiking.
Me: But all you have to do is go along for the ride, son. I'm doing all the work.
Ethan: But what if you ask me to do something to help you that I can't do?
Me: I'm never going to do that, son.
Ethan: Well, ok. But how long are we going to be gone for? Do I need to bring........

Get the picture?

I have an omnipotent, omniscient Father.

Maybe I just need to climb in.