Why does my kid remind me of the Book of Exodus?

Now that I have kids, I’m realizing how similar we are to kids in relation to God. For example, a few months ago I told my daughter to go to bed because it was late and I wanted her to get good sleep in her bed and recover from being sick. I told her what to do because I knew what was best for her. As her parent, I care for her and love her. Naturally, I want to take good care of my children.

Well that night I was tired and went to bed before my daughter. I woke up the next morning to find her sleeping on the couch. She was all crouched up, with no blanket on her, she didn’t look comfortable. I thought right then, I told her repeatedly what to do and she did not listen to me.

Similarly, in the Bible we see many examples of God giving commandants through the Judges and Prophets, and His people still not listening or obeying Him.

So what do we do when our kids don’t obey us? We give them consequences. Similarly, God gave the Israelites consequences after they left Egypt and wandered in the desert for 40 years. This was not God’s plan but rather the result of the Israelites not obeying Him.

The situation with my daughter had me thinking: if you’re not going to do what I told you to do, I’m going to have to make you do it.

In many ways, we are like kids because we don’t always understand God’s plans or desires for our lives. Our minds are very focused on the here and now whereas God sees the whole moving picture. We groan and we complain, we don’t trust or believe God has better plans for us.

When I was young and wanted a cat, my mom told me to clean my room. I cleaned my room and she asked if I cleaned under my bed. I told her I didn’t and she told me I should go do that. Well, I didn’t do that and unbeknownst to me, my mom told me she planned to get me a cat but because I did not do what I was asked, and was not responsible with the task of cleaning under my bed, I was not entrusted with the gift of a cat.

The situation reminds me of our relationship with God. God wants us to trust Him, follow Him, and allow Him to use us for His purpose in both big and small ways. But how can God entrust us with big tasks, if we are fail to complete the small tasks?

Imagine you are a boss and you have a job opening for new supervisor. The role would pay more money then the lower level positions, but it would be a job with more responsibilities. Would the boss consider the applicant who struggles to complete the simple tasks? Or would the boss choose the applicant who is taking on every opportunity with drive and excellence? It’s not a hard choice, right? If these were the boss’ only two options the choice is extremely easy, you choose to promote the worker who successfully completes their projects.

I think in the same way, God gives us small tasks to prepare us for bigger tasks. The responsibility is on us to decide if we will work dilligently to complete the small tasks.

Ultimately, we get to choose what childlike behavior we want to display. If we seek to love God with with all our hearts, naturally our child-like behavior should mirror our relationship with God.

Discovery Questions:

Is there a seemingly small task you have not yet completed but if completed, it would draw you closer to God?

If so, what is preventing you from completing the small task?

What steps can you take to complete the small task and be entrusted by God for bigger tasks?