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Spirit of the Flame - 70 days following the Olympic Torch
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DAY 56

I've had a childish afternoon and evening.

I had my 8 year old daughter and two of her girlie cousins in the car as we went out to visit somewhere. On arrival they expended all their accumulated energy from having sat watching "Ice Age 4" earlier this afternoon. Vocal. Loud. Running. Speed. Jumping. Everywhere. Conversation. Intense.

Then back in the car, the only restraint was the seatbelts. There was the same veracity, only encapsulated in the confines of the car. If captured it would fuel a power station.

After dropping my wife off to go and do the much needed shopping, I took the girls to a local park. This park claims to be a Sport Legacy Zone, the first in the UK. Combining play and social fitness, the park has lots of outdoor exercise equipment, and playful apparatus for little people and parents alike.

As their energy propelled them across the field, over, under, through, and round the obstacles, I found myself acting the part of their coach.

When they needed lifting, I was called. When they needed spinning, I was called. When the moving parts needed retrieving because their short legs and arms could not reach, I was called. And of course, I had to do the Dad/Uncle thing and have a go!

We laughed. We ran. We got a little dirty. And then we piled back into the car when the rain started.

I have had a childish afternoon and evening.

One day, these girls will grow up. That is, grow out of doing childish things. Their "maturity" will progress them on to other things, unless they let go occasionally, or if they have to do the mum or aunty thing.

Doing childish things can be fun from time to time. But for most of us, maturity reshapes us.

1 Corinthians 12 talks about the abilities God gives us to work together in encouraging each other, and in sharing our faith. Chapter 13, which is best read in conjunction with chapter 12, reads on about the best ability, or attitude we can have is to love each other. Other good actions are pointless without the attitude of love.

1 Corinthians 13:11 (NLT)
When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.

The simile here is that babies mature, grow, develop. And Paul uses this analogy to show that one day, when Jesus returns, we will reach a maturity in faith. Until then, we are childlike in our spirituality.

The end of the chapter concludes: "Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love." (verse 13)

Today, I had a childish afternoon and evening. But I don't normally behave like that, I'm more mature as the decades roll by!

Today, this afternoon and evening, I have a childish faith and hope. These are maturing by constantly seeking the presence of God. And as for maturity of love for others, I think that is found through spending time with God too.

As you seek the presence of God, may your faith and hope mature, may your love for others multiply exponentially, but may you never forget how to occasionally run, jump, and laugh like a 6-8 year old!

-Pr Nathan Stickland

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