Choice 3: Matthew 18:1–14. “Become as Little
Children”
·
Review Matthew 18:3–4 and Doctrine and Covenants
78:17–18. Explain in writing the ways we are like little children. In these
verses, how does the Lord say
He will help us?
We are very similar
to children when we compare a relationship that we have with God and that of a
small child. A small child lives at home
and has all the necessary things of life provided through the loving efforts of
a father. They go to the fridge and open
it expecting it to be full of food, the same expectation is with the
pantry. Small children do not even
realize that while their father is away he is planning and preparing for their
future. A good father anticipates the
needs of his children and meets them at the appropriate time. Fathers also look critically at what is best
for their children. Sometimes this may disappoint
the child because the father will let them struggle to learn a valuable life
lesson.
We are the selfish
child. We get up in the morning and
expect air to breath, the sun to come up.
We expect to be able to drill a well and find water there. We expect the sun to rise each day and supply
energy to power our homes and grow our crops.
We often experience struggles in life and do not understand while a
loving father would allow us to meet this fate or why he wouldn't take it out
of our way. Indeed we are like children
and we do not realize how our father is always doing that which is best for us.
·
Read Mosiah 3:19 and list the ways in which we
are to become as little children.
We become a little child when we
put complete trust in our father. When
he asks us to do something, we do it because we believe that he is right. We are teachable and humble enough to ask our
father lots of questions because we value his advice. To becometh a child is not to be confused
with being childish. We are expected to
be like a child in a sense of spiritual maturity and avoid hard hardheartedness.
