Thinking of Paul and Little Children

There are a couple of things the Holy Spirit has brought to mind this morning that I wanted to get written down.

THOUGHTS ON THE APOSTLE PAUL:  
My first thoughts are about the apostle Paul and the thorn in his side.  In 2 Corinthians 12 he talks about it a bit.  He says he was "given a thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan."  A thorn in the flesh is something that would cause him pain or discomfort every day.  All the time.  Neverendingly poking at him.  Constantly on his mind.  

We know that Paul, when he was Saul the Pharisee, he was a thorn to many early Christians.  He caused them much discomfort even to the point of death.  He persecuted them.  But then one day on the road to Damascus, on the way to persecute more Christians, he was stuck down by an intense bright light and Jesus spoke to him.  He was blinded and taken to a house where he suffered while the Holy Spirit fell on him as he had fallen on the Christian people.  It wasn’t till Ananias came and spoke to him that "something like scales fell from his eyes."  He tells the story in Act 9 and Acts 22.

I wonder if the intense bright light and the scales which fell from his eyes caused permanent damage to his eyes, his eyesight?  We know there are scriptures that tell of his poor eyesight.  We know he had trouble with his eyes for the rest of his life.  I wonder if the thorn in his side was his sight, this messenger of Satan, a daily reminder that he could no longer see clearly with his physical eyes and had to rely more on his mind and the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through him.  He would never fully see with his eyes again after that first encounter with Jesus.  He would always be reminded of what he did before he came to know Jesus and his saving grace and mercy.  This could be the thorn in his side that never went away but did not hold him back so much that he would be unable to keep from spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ and the miracles of coming to Him and following Him?  I wonder.

THOUGHTS ABOUT LITTLE CHILDREN:
My next thought is about little children and the Lord's love for them.  Over and over through the Bible little children are adored and loved by the Lord. God the Son, Jesus the Christ, says in Matthew 18:3, that unless we turn from sin and become like little children we will never see the Kingdom of Heaven and that if we lead one of these little children into sin it would be better to have a stone tied around our necks and drowned in the sea!  That is pretty straightforward. It is intense if you really think about it and dwell on it.  Read the word NEVER.  The King James Version says, "ye shall not", which means never, enter the Kingdom of God.

'And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. '
Matthew 18:3

What is it about little children?  He calls us his children.  Father God calls his people his children.  Jesus calls us his family, his children. Children are young and innocent until adults get a hold of them and show them sinful ways.  Adults are their teachers and their leaders. Children live how they are taught and how they are disciplined.  Children are the earliest example of mankind,  made in the image of God here on earth.  They have just left the spiritual realm of God a short time ago.  They were with the Father and then the spark of  life, that first breath of life, was breathed into them. If that tiny baby does not breath they do not live.  They die and the spirit returns to the Father and the tiny body is returned to the dust. Each of these little ones were knit together in the womb of their mother and then when they drew that first breath of life on earth they became a full human being. Before that they had not breathed the air on this earth but were fully and totally connected to the Father, Spirit to spirit.  It took that first breath to put the child physically and spiritually on earth.  When the umbilical cord was cut the baby became an individual, a person, a separated being from the Father.  A human being made in the image of God but now cut from the Spirit of God.  A human being with a free will but a little child needing to be taught the ways of the Father and a lifetime to find a way to restore that spiritual connection that was just cut.  He wants us each to find the way, the truth and the life.  He wants us each to find Him again.

As the little ones grew here on earth that connection of God's Spirit and the spirit of that little child began to separate more.  Each month, each year the spiritual separation widened.  Each year the child learned from the adults and those around who had been in the world for a longer period time.  Some of these people involved in the nurturing of the child did a wonderful job and taught them about God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  Some lead these little children on a path of spiritual destruction. The innocent little child was lead to sin and selfishness which is totally opposite than God, who is loving kindness, mercy and grace.  God will hold the adults accountable for the sins of the little children. The initial plan of God was to have a beautiful relationship with His people and the people were suppose to be following God and leading their children towards God, not away from Him.  An evil one came into the picture a long time ago and is still doing his best to lead every single soul he possibly can away from God.  He has been damned to hell, the burning lake of fire, for a long time but the plan has not been completed yet as God wants each of us to return to Him spiritually.

If we could see the world in spiritual eyes we would see billions of adults walking around with millstones hung around their necks.  God will eventually be drowning them in the sea or the lake of fire for what they have done to the little children.  The only way to cut the rope holding the millstone is to repent and ask for forgiveness from Jesus for causing the little ones to follow after sinful ways and selfishness.  Jesus will forgive those with a truly repentant heart.