It is a bit of an oppressive day, Father, but may I focus on You – the warmth of Your love, the brightness of Your spirit in mine. Amen.
Luke 18:15-17 (<<click here to read the passage)
I’ve mentioned it before, but one of my greatest jobs was the time I served as a Children’s Pastor back in the late 90s. That’s probably why I enjoy being a school bus driver, too! Children definitely bring their own set of unique challenges but overall, it is a joy – their smiling faces, their laughter, their chatty conversations. Their delight brings me delight. Their heartache brings me the same.
Here’s a cute short story about kids.
A pastor was giving the children’s message during church. For this part of the service, he would gather all the children around him and give a brief lesson before dismissing them for children’s church.
On this particular Sunday, he was using squirrels for an object lesson on industry and preparation. He began by saying, “I’m going to describe something, and I want you to raise your hand when you know what it is.” The children nodded eagerly.
“This thing lives in trees… and eats nuts…” No hands went up. “And it is gray… and has a long bushy tail…” The children were looking at each other, but still, no hands were raised. “And it jumps from branch to branch and chatters and flips its tail when it’s excited…”
Finally, one little boy tentatively raised his hand. The pastor breathed a sigh of relief and called on him. “Well,” said the boy, “I know the answer must be Jesus… but it sure sounds like a squirrel to me!”
You have to laugh!
As verses 15-17 clearly convey, Jesus loved children. He also makes it very clear that “…anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” v17
Children are naturally beings of faith. Most children – unless they’ve been taught otherwise – will believe what they are told. They are trusting. Early on, they are not jaded by the pain and deceit of which there is an abundant supply in the world. And on top of that, all in all, their love is unfathomable – deep and wide.
The older we get, the more difficult it is for us to maintain these highly desirable traits. This old sinful world wears on us. We become faithless, untrusting and the love we felt and found in abundance once upon a time, we find to be so, so allusive.
As we mature, as followers of Christ, we realize the utmost importance of reclaiming these attributes. Our goal should be to get back to the basics that we had down-pat as children. If we can do that, the Kingdom of God will be ours! May it be so!
Oct 19th, 2020, Mon, 12:42 pm
