Loving Your Heavenly Father: Act Like a 3 Year Old Again

Having children has been a huge blessing in our home.  Silas is now 3 and the twins are a little over 1. And let me tell you, my kids are non-stop!  Amidst all the chaos (much of which Kelly would say I never see :-) it’s been so much fun to see these little guys develop.  I’ve been noticing that, as Silas has gets older, he’s gradually becoming more aware of when I come and go.  Our goodbyes could go either way, but usually it’s expected and not a big deal.  But the real joy comes when I return home for lunch or maybe in the evening when I’ve been gone all day.  Almost without fail, my homecoming is a pretty big deal.  There’s nothing quite like being greeted by a 3 year old yelling “papa’s home” all the way from the other side of the house as I come through the door.  There’s nothing like having a little boy that just wants to grab ahold of my legs and hold on until I can set my things down and pick him up.   As if that didn’t bring enough joy, now that the girls are crawling crazy fast, they converge on me as well with their curly hair and huge smiles.  All I can say is I love being a dad.  There’s nothing like it.

Although Kelly and I are definitely on the front end of raising our kids, I thank God for the opportunities he’s giving each day to be reminded of the kind of relationship that our heavenly Father desires to have with us.  My mind often goes to this passage in Romans 8.

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.

Abba is a term that expresses warm affection.  We don’t even really have a perfect equivalent in English.  I know for me personally, I often forget to run to my heavenly Father.  I forget that he is there, ready to hold me and protect me.  I don’t anticipate or get that excited about the time that we will spend together.  I think sometimes I simply forget that I’m his child, and he is my Father.

Thank God for children, who in their honest, warm affection can show us how far we tend to stray from our one great love.

Titus Curtis
Titus has a degree in cross-cultural ministry and was on staff at Faith from 2000-2012.