Like children?
All this talk of God and God’s power to overcome… How do we get it, grasp it, use it, even sense it? How?
“Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like little children….” (Matthew 18:3)
We become like little children, again? Well, for us especially, that is both the answer and the problem. The pure gift of childhood is vulnerability, isn’t it? And our vulnerability was exploited, resulting in the blistering wounds we still carry. We can’t, won’t let that happen.
But, our vulnerability is vital to growth, to becoming, to relating, and, yes, to healing. It is our greatest attribute, our finest gift, and the vehicle by which we come to know who we are, who others are, who God is, and our purpose in these lives of ours.
If we are to come before God, if we are to know God, it is through our vulnerability.
In God’s presence, we will not only find our vulnerability honored, but its true potential will be explained and demonstrated, given our level of participation.
So, yes, this all makes sense, but how? If we are angry, if we are hurt, if we doubt God is there at all, how do we even begin?
We start with a willingness to peel off all that we threw on our vulnerability to hide it, protect it, smother it really. The lies, the prejudices, the preconceptions. We must lay down our doubts, our anger, our fears. We must pack them up neatly and store them in a corner.
Then, we must turn around, deliberately, day by day, moment by moment, and pray, both aloud and in our minds, the prayers of two of the Bible’s greatest prophets…
“Here I am…” (Isaiah 6:8), and
“Speak, Lord, for your servant listens.” (1Samuel 3:10)
And then we must watch. We must watch intently. We cock our head, our eyes, our ears. We become sensitive to all that resists — adding it to the store in the corner — as we stay the course.
Reflection
Why would God gift us with vulnerability?
Prayer
Dear God, this is asking a great deal of me. Help me to see it through. I want to see You, hear You, have You in my life. I want to receive You. I want to risk being vulnerable before You. Here I am, Lord. Speak. I’m listening.
