Lessons from a Toddler

There is a lot we can learn from children if we take the time to watch. My grandson Jack will have his first birthday this month. I was watching him navigate his world the other day when he stopped to play with his green turtle (don't ask).
The highlight of this turtle is that it plays music when you move it. Jack gave it a nudge and it began to play that all-to-familiar tune that sticks in my head at the most unusual moments. As the turtle started to serenade us all, Jack began to rock back and forth to the music (an 11 month old's version of breakdancing). To my knowledge, his parents don't let him stay up for Dancing with the Stars or America's Best Dance Crew. His dancing is a natural response to the music.
How many of us pay attention to what's going on around us and check to see if our actions are just a natural response. When it comes to our faith, people just assume they will grow closer to God, but make no conscious, disciplined effort to do so. But is growing closer to God our natural response in life? The Bible says no. Romans 3:10-11 says, "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God." The Heidelberg Catechism (a reformed confession written in the late 1500's) says that we all have the tendency to hate God and our neighbor (Lord's Day 2, Q & A 5). In other words, when the music of life starts playing, our natural tendency is to move away from God and people, not towards them. Our natural tendency is to focus on ourselves first, not others. Our natural tendency is to keep people and God out.
If we truly want to know God more and grow in our faith, then we need to make the effort to do that. God promises to reveal Himself to us, but we are called to be obedient to His will and seek Him with all of our heart. Jeremiah 29:13 says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Someone asked me the question, "Where is Heartland going?" My response was our mission, which is to make devoted followers of Jesus who Love God more than anything else, care for others more than themselves, and serve the world with passion and purpose. Where we are going is not a natural response to being a Christian. It takes commitment, discipline and devotion. It requires us to reprioritize our life and sometimes go in directions we "naturally" don't want to go. But it's worth it.
I might not have to teach my grandson how to dance, which he will one day be grateful for, but I do need to work with his parents to teach him how to live. We can take great comfort in knowing that even though we won't naturally learn how to love God, we belong to Him and He promises to teach us how to love and how to live. Let your Father in heaven teach you.