As Children

There is a little child in each of us.

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, 'Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.' And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. - Mark 10:13-16

Why do you think the disciples spoke sternly to the people who were bringing little children to Jesus?

It seems odd to us, probably because we see Jesus differently than they did.  To them, Jesus was an important leader of the people, a savior from oppression, a Messiah.  Sure he was curing the sick and healing the possessed, and he spoke of feeding the widows and orphans, but he had no time to tend to children, right?

But Jesus let them know they were missing the point.  As children do, so should you, he told them.

Come to God as a child would and the kingdom will be yours.

All our lives, we struggle to grow out of our childish ways, to mature and become full persons, leaving behind all the innocence and wonder we once had, afraid that those things make us naive and open to ridicule.

But it is that nature that we should retain, if we want to see God in everything God created.

Imagine for a moment that you are a child again, and Jesus smiles at you, places his hands on your shoulders and blesses you.  How would that feel?

There is something special about being a child, about living one's life with joy and excitement over every new thing one encounters, about having new experiences and sharing them with everyone you know.

Let's try to be like that again.  Let the worries of the day wait for us to grow up.

More to come...