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Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:9-11

My son is transitioning from a baby to a toddler. He’s making funny faces, learning to walk, baby talking his way through conversations, and pressing any button he lays eyes on. Whenever he wants to be freed from his “prison”, I mean playpen, he stretches his arms above his head, spreads his fingers, stares at me wide-eyed, and makes this sound that mimics a small injured animal. When he does that, I have the hardest time resisting to pick him up. Such difficulty in refusing a request is something I have never experienced until I became a father.

Upon pondering this feeling and where my son’s influence comes from, I came up with two reasons. First, he is my son, and this unique relationship creates a responsibility in me that is greater than all of my other responsibilities. Being a father makes me want to provide for his needs, attend to him at all times, and make sacrifices for him. The second reason is, that he is a helpless baby who depends on and trusts my wife and me for everything. Knowing this makes it hard for me to refuse his requests. This is especially true when the request is something as simple and innocent as holding him.

When someone relies on and trusts you 100%, it brings out an eagerness to try and satisfy one’s request. I imagine that this is the same between God and us. He is our Heavenly Father and when we rely on Him completely, He wants to satisfy us. As Matthew puts it, God’s natural tendency is to give us great gifts and blessings that are good for us. Our issue is that we don’t usually rely on Him the way babies rely on their caregivers. Instead we feel that we know better, we quit relying on our Heavenly Father and act like spiritual adolescents.  

Let us come before God:

• Thanking Him for His grace and patience in not refusing us; and,
• Asking Him to help us be a person who always has the spiritual heart of a baby and to rely on Him for everything.