“He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, ‘Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’” Matthew 18:2-4
A child is completely dependent on their mother, father or caretaker. They must trust in them solely and completely for all their basic needs such as safety, nourishment, shelter and love. The Lord calls us to live like a child always, trusting in Him completely. In a world where independence and self-reliance are celebrated, it can be hard to truly surrender and abandon oneself to the One who created us. It is not in our learned nature. I say “learned” nature, because in our “true” nature, we were created to trust completely in Our Lord, without reservation.
It is difficult to surrender for many of us, because we take pride in our independence and self-reliance. To admit we are not in control and let go of the control we believe we have is no small undertaking. But it is essential to the joy and sweetness that the Lord promises to those who truly surrender to Him. And how joyous and sweet it is to truly trust in the Lord!
We must let go and jump in the arms of our Father, especially when we are afraid and have fear of the unknown or when the circumstances that lie before us seem grim. We must let Him hold us and give us the assurance that He has always been there, is there for us now, and will always be there–we need only to come to Him as a child would come to their mother, father or caretaker, looking for solace and comfort in the arms of the one they trust the most, of the one they know will always be there for them.
Jesus desires so much for us to run to Him in this way; to come to Him, without reservation. To abandon ourselves into His arms. His Heart aches for us, yearns to comfort us, if we only let Him. If we could only see the joy on His face when we come to Him, run to Him and ask for His help, love and comfort. The graces, blessings and peace He wants to bestow on us if we only surrender our lives to Him can in no way be matched by anything they world promises in living a life of total self-reliance.
Simply put, this is because we were not created to be totally self-reliant or independent. We were created to live in total abandonment to God. And so, we can only truly be happy when we do that. We can only truly be at peace when live as we were created to live–completely dependent on God. To live in any other way would be like trying to fit pieces of a puzzle together that don’t match. You can force them together (as we sometimes force or exert our control over situations in our lives to go the way we think they should go). But just as when two pieces of a puzzle are made to fit together, when it’s God’s Will, it is always easy, natural and there is a sense of “it was meant to be,” without the need to force anything.
Such is the life of one who lives as a child of God, in total surrender to Him. It is an easy life, natural and God leads the way and takes care of their every need. There are most definitely challenges, struggles, hardships. But the child of God surrenders all to Him, and trusts completely in God’s handling of all these things. So even though there may be pain, sadness and sorrow at times, the load they bare is much lighter, anxiety of what will happen next is lessened, if it exists at all, and there is always an underlying “peace that surpasses all understanding” that stays with one who surrenders all to the Lord.
Take a moment now to enter the silence of your heart. Come to Jesus as you were as a child and feel the openness and tenderness with which He welcomes you into His arms. Feel the safety and security, the sweet bliss of His embrace and the great peace of knowing all is under His care.
May the Sacred Heart of Jesus continue to draw all the world to His Most Sacred Heart so we may rest completely there. May Jesus help us to surrender to Him and become like a child, depending solely on Him for our every need so we can live in true freedom and experience the sweetness and pure joy that awaits us in the Sacred Heart of the One who created us. And may Mary, Our Holy Mother, guide us through Her example of total abandonment to God and protect us through the love of Her Most Immaculate Heart.