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³And [Jesus] said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:3-4 (NIV)

An element of childlikeness is the freedom to fail; the joy of trying…the “I don’t have to know everything before I try something” attitude. Does it get them in trouble? Yes, sometimes it does. Do they try again? Yes. Sometimes over and over and over again.

As we grow, we lose that spontaneity to try new things before we have all the answers and the resiliency to try over and over again. At the same time, we “gain” too much of an “appreciation” (aka fear) of the stigma associated with failure. So we take less risks and our life becomes safer and safer and safer.

I’m not advocating immaturity or irresponsibility, but I am advocating living in such a way that we take risks, knowing that we might fail sometimes, but also knowing that little is accomplished for the Kingdom of God by playing it safe. Not taking risks means you are living your life within your own capabilities – which are way inferior to God’s.

I want to be known for trying…even if I fail. Sometimes I need to be reminded of that because I don’t like to fail. I like to be viewed as in control, competent and on top of things. Those are good things…except when they’re not. Because quite frankly, faith – the kind of faith I want to be known for – means not having all the answers, but trusting the One who does.

I want to live my life beyond my capabilities so that God’s power can be seen by those around me. And sometimes I’ll misjudge or hear Him wrong and I’ll fail. I want to be OK with that. I’m working on it.

This week…go for it! Step out in some way – trust God to catch you if you fall and be willing to look less than 100% in control, competent and on top of things for the furtherance of His Kingdom.

By the way – my experience is that living in such a way increases the likelihood that you will see God move in your life tremendously. If you want to live an extraordinary life considering making yourself available to God to use in extraordinary ways. Then just enjoy the scenery!

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 24th, 2012 at 4:09 pm and is filed under Blessed Life, Christian Living, Confidence in God, failure, Faith, God's Faithfulness, Success. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.