Children, You Gotta to Love Them

"Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Matt. 18:3

 

"Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, "'From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise'?"

 

Matt 21:16

Children, you have to love them. They say the first things that come from their heads or mouths. They ask the most private and daunting questions. But, we all begin as infants and then mature to childhood, only to regress to child-likeness, dependent upon others in our dotage, old age. Is there a graceful way to accept this transition? If the Bible is too believed, there is: become a child  again; remain a child forever.

Most of us feel like Nicodemus felt when Jesus told him that he must be born again:"You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' ( John 3:7).  Yikes! Who wants to experience birth and childhood again? I am sure Nick was thinking: I hope there is a door number 2. But, alas, there is only one way to enter the kingdom: accept it as a child, innocently filled with faith.
 
Children aren’t afraid of vulnerability. Who is more vulnerable than a baby? Perhaps,  an elderly person. Knowing this fact, God has promised that even to our gray hairs and whiskers, He will be faithful to us. God knew that entering a second childhood would be hard for most of us, so He promised that He would guard us and protect us until we got home: "Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save you" (Isaiah 46:4).

Children are honest about their needs and wants; they don’t hide behind subterfuge and false vanity. No. What they want, they let you know. Interestingly, Jesus tells us we can come to the Father with our requests: don’t be shy. Tell it: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Take a cue from a child: if he has to potty, he calmly, or not so calmly, lets the world know, its potty time. We are invited to get just that honest with our heavenly Father. Jesus says that God knows what we need already, but we should ask. Just as Mom knows that hop jump means it’s potty time.

In fact, Jesus settles even for a bit brutal honesty himself when he states emphatically,
"If you then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more
will your Father who is in heaven, give good things to them that ask him?" (Matt 7:11).
So, why not relax today in being God's child. Lean back in His arms, and let Him Father you.

Daddy's Girl,
MJ