…as a little child

Mark 10: 13-16 (NASV) “¹³And they began bringing children to Him, so that He might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, ‘Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it at all.’ ¹⁶ And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands upon them.”

This past weekend we celebrated my granddaughters sixth birthday with a dinner out at the “E-bar” in Santa Barbara, and sitting at a long table for dinner that evening were four generations; two sets of great grandparents, the two sets of grandparents, the parents, a great aunt, the birthday girl, and her two and a half year old brother. Our seating was adjacent to a grassy knoll that separated us from the asphalt and chain link fence of the Santa Barbara Airport; we were able to watch (and hear) the small planes come and go. It wasn’t long before a little boy about the age of our granddaughter found our two kids on the berm for grand adventures that started with observing gophers at work just below the surface of their entry holes and proceeded from there to running up and down the grassy area while letting their imaginations run wild. The little boy’s family was leaving and there was a great deal of commotion about him wanting to stay with his new friends that only ended with him being carried away which gave our party a chance to receive the food and begin eating. But with such an adventurous place at hand, eating really could only occur between unwrapping presents.

It wasn’t too long after taking a couple of bites and all the presents were opened that another little boy appeared and a new trio of adventurers was formed. Off they went; there were no negotiations, no questions, just sharing the excitement and creating toys from plants and other items found nearby.

I can’t help but believe that it is this quality of acceptance without question that so endears our Lord to children. Also, their simple faith in what we tell them, what they hear from God, or other teachers must be characteristics that are required for entrance to the Kingdom. This puts a great deal of responsibility on earthly parents and adults to be as truthful as we possibly can. If I were to have told them that there were 20 or so gophers lined up waiting to come out and start dancing, these kids would not only have believed it, they would have positioned themselves in such a way as to be able to observe them in the hope that they would be allowed to join in the dance. Faith, acceptance, action based on faith… These are the things that make working with children both exciting and frightening at the same time.

What other aspects of children is Jesus looking for? Do we have it and, if not, can we find it again?