I believe the greatest thing we can call ourself is “Child of God.”

If I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior realizing He shed His blood to wash me from my sins, then I am truly a “Child of God.”

After that, I am known (in this order) as a husband, father and grandfather.

It’s still hard to believe I am a “grandfather.” Actually I’m hoping they, that would be Emma Clarke and Cayson Benjamin, call me “granddad.”

This past Monday, my wife was watching Emma.

I had come home from church and we were sitting in the living room while Emma was playing with her blocks on the floor.

I watched as she stacked one on top of another on top of another and so on. She would get the stack as high as five blocks before, you guessed it, they came tumbling down.

Then her dad moved the “building process” from the floor to the coffee table.

While this sounds elementary, there are a couple of things the Lord reminded me of as I watched her work consistently in building her stack of blocks.

First, the foundation you build on is important. You see, each time the blocks would fall, Emma would take one of the blocks that had fallen from the stack and use it as the foundation block for the next stack she built.

The Bible says in Ephesians 2:20: “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.”

Your Christian walk can not be built upon a certain church nor a certain doctrine nor a certain religion. Your Christian walk must be built upon Jesus Christ and nothing nor anyone else.

If what you have is “religion” and not a relationship with Jesus Christ, all you’re doing is wasting your time. Build on Jesus Christ.

Second, I noticed when Emma placed block upon block upon block she didn’t stack them perfectly. She stacked them this way and that way.

That reminded me when Jesus Christ puts us, puts things together He does it perfectly.

In Ephesians 2:21, the Bible says “In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord.”

Part of that scripture refers to “close jointed together.” The Lord fits us perfectly in His kingdom where we belong. We are part of what God is building in “earthen vessels.”

There was one more thing I was reminded of as Emma built her stack with her building blocks.

Each time she would put her stack together and they didn’t fall, she would stop and clap. Guess what Gran and Granddad did? We clapped right along with her and cheered her on.

Each time we would clap. Each time we would say “Good job, Emma!” Every time.

At whatever point you are as you are “building” your relationship with Jesus Christ, can I encourage you when things seem to collapse around you that you build again.

Just as Emma would take a block from her fallen stack and begin again, you can do the same. She didn’t think about it, she just did it. She took the block and started the process over again.

I remind you as you build again, in each success you have in your relationship with Jesus Christ all of heaven is clapping for you as we did for Emma.

They’re cheering you on.

Hebrews 12:1 tells us “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses….”

All of heaven is cheering you on. You can make it Child of God.

God is for you, and if God be for you who can be against?

Start building again.

The Rev. Mike Smith is the executive pastor at Church of the Living God on Franklin Avenue. He can be reached at pastormike@wincitycolg.com.