The disciples try to stop parents from bringing their children to Jesus to be blessed, probably thinking that he had enough on his plate, as it were. Jesus rebukes the disciples and welcomes the children, saying "I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it." Powerful words, and a big reprimand to the disciples.
What makes children so special, is what we lose growing up don't we? I think that's why we adore children, because they see things that we've lost. Let's take a look this morning at a just a few characteristics of children that may bring to light Jesus' comments.
Children are obedient aren't they? Until they get older, the person that they listen to the most are their parents. A child is dependent on their parents for food, shelter, wisdom, learning .... basically their whole world. When the child grows up, the role of the parent in their lives lessen. You can probably already see what I'm getting at here. Our faith and relationship to God is geared for us to have Him as our 'parent' to rely on him instead of ourselves. It's sad how when we first become a Christian, God is number 1 in our lives, but as the years past, sometimes the relationship teeters and falls away due to our own desires and self-inflicted emotional 'baggage'.
A child has a sense of wonder. Always asking questions about this or that. Why is the sky blue? Where do babies come from? Is there a Santa? One of the detriments of the North American Church is that we don't allow people to ask questions without right away shooting them down. We need to allow ourselves to question God about things, and to allow others to question and discuss their faith. New believers have the wide-eye of curiosity and are always questioning stuff, and as our faith grows, we too lose our sense of wonder. God is Wonder, God should continue to astound and provide excitement. Like a child going to Disneyland for the first time, every day we should arise and find wonder in God. Can you imagine what that does for us, and for our day?? What joy we should find in the Lord, and the same joy carries us everyday through this life of ours!
A Child finds happiness in the smallest of things. At Christmas time we always look for great gifts for kids whether its your own kids, or even shopping for a kids charity like Samaritan's purse. But kids can find joy in almost everything, whether its using a cardboard box as spaceship, or turning backyard sandboxes into major construction sites. Kids can find happiness and contentment in almost anything. As we get older, the world plays tricks on our minds, convincing us that we don't have enough, or what we have isn't good enough. It's basic consumerism. True contentment and happiness never comes from stuff. We know this, we've heard this before, but the trouble is that it doesn't reach our hearts does it? It's hard to not let resentment and envy play tricks with our desires. Yet, the more we allow God to have His place in our hearts, the more we find joy and contentment in Him than we do in the world. It's a struggle we will have constantly in our lives, as long as we place value in this world's 'stuff' over God.
This lesson has been a blessing to me, and a challenge. May you find His joy and peace today.
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