maturing approval.

He ran up to me to show me his fingers. 

 Normally he wants nothing to do with my antics to get him involved, but today it's different.

Joy spreads across his face and he yells at his mom, 

who is walking the baby in a stroller around the track while we play. 

"Mom, look at me!" 

and I wonder if those around me can hear my thoughts.

Do we ever stop wanting approval of people who love us?

Do we ever get to old to stop waving our

 smudgy little fingers in the face of those who care..

"Look at me."

Does the need for approval just translate into

 please confirm that you love me? 

or the need to know what your doing is important?

 What does it look like to outgrow this 3 year old "look at me" mentality?

What does a life that looks for no approval actually look like? 

Does God even expect us to live without getting approval from humans no matter what our age?

and the questions keep mounting. 

There was this guy in the Bible, John the Baptist.. you know the one, that guy who dressed funny and ate bugs, and had the awesome responsibility of telling people that the Savior was coming.  Long story very short.. Toward the end of his life on earth he was thrown in prison and it was there in prison he hears through the grapevine that Jesus is walking around raising people from the dead... and John the Baptist wants to know if this is the Savior who he was telling everyone about. So, he sends some folks to go check out the story.

Well, Jesus confirms to John's people that He is the One and then John's messengers high tailed it back to John in prison.  So, after John's people leave.. Jesus says this to those around him.

 "I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John, 

Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."

Luke 7:28

Approval. Yes, John you did a great job. I see you, and John didn't even get to hear it..  I'm sure there was but minutes between verses in this book of the Bible. Minutes that would have made a difference between what John's people heard, and what they didn't.. so why didn't God let  them stay long enough to hear Jesus's words about John? 

In the search for answers you stumble on the greatest gift.. the uncovering of something so beautiful that your glad you asked the hard questions.  You find a faith that is living and breathing. A faith in a God who wants to hold you so close that people see Him, not you.. so he gets the glory. God wants us to know that approval is the lesser and  just knowing that Jesus is alive, active and here is enough.

but when your 3, you don't have the maturity to know this...