Childlike Faith
I just want to say for a four-year-old, it took every ounce of effort he had to stay seated in that chair so we could record this video. You can see him twisting and turning and my favorite part is when he jumps out of the chair at the end. While it made it hard to record, I couldn’t help but think that there are times I feel that same way while sitting in meetings here at work; like I just want to jump up out of my chair and move on with my day.
I was really excited to do this video because of the stage of life that we’re in with Theodore. As referenced at the beginning of the recording, he just turned four a few months ago. Like most four-year-olds, he tends to ask a lot of questions. Around Halloween this year, my wife received several questions about the scary decorations and costumes people were wearing. She used this time to teach Theo that these things were not real, they were just pretend. Since then, Theo’s favorite question has been, “Is this real or is it made-up?” Honestly, this is a great question for a four-year old and I have been impressed by how much he listens to and understands what we say. As we started to get ready for Christmas, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to really dive into the Christmas story with him and teach him about the birth of Jesus. Knowing how his mind is receiving things at the moment, I proactively told him, “Hey buddy, this story is real, not pretend.” Here’s the thing, that’s all he needed to hear. I told him the story was real and he believed me. He believed me because I am his father, and he knows that I love him. He knows that I am trying to teach him good things and would not do something that would harm him.
That really convicted me and got me wondering, do I approach everything written in the Bible that way? Do I read what God says and believe it, simply because He said it? Do you? We should. We should because He is our Father, He is Good, and He would not lead us down a bad path. Now I know my son is young and he see’s me as all-knowing and powerful, which he will one day very soon learn that I am not; but even then, I hope he will still know that I want what’s best for him because of his experience of my love as a father. We have a heavenly Father who is all knowing, and who is all powerful, and who is Holy, and who’s love we can experience through a relationship with Him. Who’s love we can recognize through Jesus, being born as a baby, love incarnate, for us. Because of that love, we can trust what he says is true. We can trust it.
Last point I want to make… a few weeks ago Theo started T-ball. On the first night of T-ball we were driving to the field, and he says to me, “Dad, I am kind of nervous, I have never played baseball before, and I don’t know what it’s going to be like.” I said, “Yea buddy, that is completely normal to be nervous of the unknown, but don’t worry, I think you are going to have fun.” He then replied, “Dad, I think we should pray… Dear God, please help me to not be nervous and to have fun at baseball, Amen.” Then he said, “Dad, can we turn on worship music and sing to God.” Apart from being incredibly proud of his maturity here, I also realized something. Not only does Theo believe what his mother and I are trying to teach him, but he is also putting what we teach him into action. He doesn’t just believe the words are true, he believes in the power of the actions we told him are true.
As adults, I honestly think we sometimes forget that God doesn’t just tell us things in the Bible that are nice for us to know. He tells us things so that we can do the good works he has prepared for us to do. That we can put His words in to action and reflect His goodness to the world. Imagine if we all did that here at ExxonMobil. If we loved like we are told to love; if we served like we are told to serve; if we humbled ourselves like Jesus did, not caring what others thought about it; imagine the impact that could have on our company and on those around us. Imagine the bright light we would be shinning and how hard it would be to ignore.
Jesus talked about approaching faith like a child, and I see His point in how my son has responded to us teaching him. My prayer is that we can all approach our faith like that. I pray you all have a wonderful Christmas, celebrating Jesus coming to live with us, and that you might reflect how you can have a more childlike faith here at ExxonMobil in 2024.
— John Dillon