Have you ever really
thought about what Christ actually meant when he stated 'unless
you become as a little child, you shall not inherit the Kingdom?"
I have three children and they are all different, yet individually
wonderful.
I get the greatest
pleasure out of what they say, what they think about and what
they ask. Thinking on these things, God the Father and Jesus Christ
must be greatly entertained by us as their "little children."
My youngest is
a precocious 5 year old, and I mean that in the gentlest, kindest
way possible. He is a constant delight. I never know what he is
going to say, or ask, and the way his mind works is a continual
amazement to me.
For instance
he asked me a couple of weeks ago in his 5 year-old language .
. . (and I know some of you probably think that a 5-year old should
know how to pronounce his 'T' sound, but he's so cute about it
. . . I guess I should do better, huh?)"
'Mom, if God
is our Fadder (Father) then who is our Mudder (Mother)?"
Well I stopped
what I was doing and thought to myself, "Now how do I answer him
in such a way as he will understand that the church is actually
our Mother?"
He interrupts
my silent adult intelligent train of thought with the following
statement.
'Oh, I know Mom,
it's Mrs. God!" Now how do you argue with that? At least he was
thinking about God, and he unquestionably reasoned that God had
it all worked out! He also knows that anyone who believes in Christ
is a Christian and his friend for life.
He also knows
that the strange loopy writing Mom and Granny write in church
(cursive) is Christian writing! And he believes that Jesus is
his friend. He always wants to play Jesus in his little act-out
dramas. Jesus is his Hero! Jesus loves Him!
Why can't we,
as adults, be as accepting of Christ? We are so intent on being
"adult" that we usually overlook the wide-eyed, tongue-tied wonder
of His love and grace. The love and grace that He bestows is an
absolute miracle . . . and yet we often treat it as a ho-hum fact.
Maybe we really
should try to be more like our children! Let's look at the traits
of children that Christ must have noticed and enjoyed!
Enthusiasm - Wow!
I wish I had
my children's enthusiasm for life. Everything is right there for
them to grab! The brass ring, the happy future, no problems over
the horizon, kind of enthusiasm.
Christ wants
us to be enthusiastic about His plan for our future, just as we
want our children to think about what we would like for them and
their life. We want only good for our children, right? Christ
wants only the good things in life for us too!
Love - What
love!
Our children
love us to death. They mimic us when they are little and grow
into little miniature carbon copies of us. They pick up our habits,
both good and bad. I guess if we "jumped off the cliff" our little
toddlers would follow! That's an awesome responsibility.
Christ came first
and gave us an example to mimic. Sadly we don't always pattern
our life after our living parent, in much the same way our children
do when they reach those "difficult teenage" years. We counsel
them and deliver the proverbial "if only you would listen!" speech
many, many times.
Don't you think
Christ is begging us to follow Him and the path He set before
us? He desperately longs for us to pick up His Cross and follow
Him in the Truth, the Light and the Way. He desperately longs
for us to just listen!
No Fear - Fearless.
Have you ever
seen a child innocently put his hand to a flame, toddle up to
the edge of a cliff, or step out onto a busy highway? Have they
ever experienced the burning pain of fire? They still climb to
dangerous heights, oblivious to the pain of falling. They haven't
experienced the pain of being hit by a vehicle. Commonly children
that are adventurous are said to "have no fear."
We are on an
adventure, one we have never been on before. To actually gain
ground on this adventure we must first step out in action, trusting
in the love of Christ to keep us safe. Children will leap from
a high ledge into their father's waiting arms, trusting that he
will catch them. We must do the same with our Father. Step out
in faith, commit to action, to following His will for our life
in complete trust that He will be there for us when danger approaches.
Absolute Loyalty
-Absolutely!
When you're a
child you think your father is invincible! My dad can beat up
your dad, etc. Our spiritual Father is better than invincible!
He is all powerful. He has all the power to be had! He is bigger
and better than anything we could hope to dream about! He is ever
faithful, ever loving. He has already won all our battles for
us!
Even before we
know that we're in for trouble, He's there, and in the midst of
the storm, He's there to calm the waters, and when we lose our
battle with our earthly bodies and die our physical death, He's
there . . . just waiting to give us something new and better.
So much better
that it's hard for our human minds to grasp! Just like we want
to do for our children. What more could we possibly ask for?
Hey! You want
to go play?
Enjoy your Christianity
as a little child . . . loving Him with all your heart, fearless
as David facing Goliath and loyal as a child to his Father!
My Dad's bigger than your Dad
. . . (not if we are all one big family with the same Dad!)
