Who's Your Rhoda? - You need a little one.

Who is Rhoda you ask? Rhoda was a doorkeeper at the house of Mary in Jerusalem. She was the servant girl who answered the door when Peter knocked after being released from prison.

Acts 12:

12 So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. 13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. 15 But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!” Yet she kept insisting that it was so.

When all of the prayer warriors were focused on the task of praying, it was Rhoda who was able to break away and see that their prayers had already been answered. It took Rhoda's persistence, the persistence of a child... a little one who was willing to imagine that Peter's presence wasn't just her imagination.

Sometimes it takes a child to point out the obvious... to "lead us" to see God. Why is it that Jesus always points to a child when He wants us to see the truest example of discipleship?

Because children are innocent? pure? unjaded? Nope... Nope... Nope!

Those are modern day depictions of children and childhood, but they are not consistent with biblical depictions of children. Children were considered to be of the lowest status in Jesus' day. The reason that "Jeeeesus loves the little chiiildren" is because in the kingdom of God, the last shall be first and the first shall be last... BUT still, we can learn a lot from the little ones.

A few reasons why you need a Little One in your life:
1. Rhoda's keep you dreaming. For some of us whose dreams have long since faded, little ones allow us to dream through them. As we dream of all that we hope they will be, our dreams are given new life... even if its only in our hopes that their dreams will come true.

2. Rhoda's help us to remember our nightlites. My nightlite comforted me when the lights were turned off at bedtime as a child. I now know that there was nothing there in the dark that would harm me, but the imagination of a child is still capable of wondering what's out there.

3. Rhoda's keep us small. Have you ever watched a child play with a new toy? OR watch the same movie over and over and laugh at the same parts each time. I'm always amazed at the power of stickers with children. Children love stickers! I'm not sure why, but I vaguely remember loving stickers too. Little ones help us to remember the meaning and significance of the small things.

4. Rhoda's keep you light. If you ever start taking yourself too seriously, hang out with some children. The don't play for entertainment or because their bored. They play because its fun.

Who's your Rhoda? Who keeps you dreaming... keeps your imagination alive... helps you to remember the importance of the little things... and helps you to NOT take yourself too seriously?

Written by Frederick A Hanna