I love fun kid /dad videos on the internet.
There's one going around with great dad 'saves'. The kid is on the swing and he falls off and is just about to hurt himself when dad grabs his leg and saves him. A teenager is tubing on a snow covered hill and is about to take out a toddler at the bottom when dad leaps in and scoops her out of the way. A baby falls off the couch beside a dozing dad and he reflexively reaches out to stop their fall.
I love it. Nice job dad. Way to be ready at a moment's notice to save your child when they are acting like.....well, when they are acting like a kid.
Kids swing. Many of them love it. Kids run out on the snow. That's a good day. Kids fall asleep on the couch and roll over. We actually come to expect it of them.
It's hard sometimes as a dad to let our children act like kids, but if we're good dads, we let our kids do exactly that. It's good for them. It helps them grow. It lets them engage with, learn from, and have fun with this incredible world we live in.
And it's exactly what God wants for them.
Oops. Sorry. Let me rephrase that.
It's exactly what God wants for us; all of us.
Wait. You're telling me that God wants me to act like a kid.
Nope. I'm not. Jesus is.
"People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on the, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. Mark 10:13-16
Many have wondered what this means. How are we supposed to be like children? What was Jesus saying?
I'm not completely sure, but I think we can learn some things in this passage, and others where children play a prominent part.
Let's call them them '5 Childish Ways to Follow Jesus'.
1. Give away your stuff when God asks for it.
John 6:9 gives us the first glimpse into child-like Godliness. There are a lot of people around and they don't have any food. The disciples ask around and find a boy with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. And the boy gave them to Jesus.
Don't ever miss that. Jesus asked the boy for something and he gave it to Him. No questions, no complaining, no excuses of why he couldn't. He just gave what he had to Jesus.
The best part is that the boy then had a front row seat to one of the Messiah's miracles. He got to watch as Jesus took his humble lunch and multiplied it to feed thousands. How much he must of spoken of that moment for the rest of his life. Because he was generous, he got to witness a spectacular work of Christ.
Oh how tightly we can hold onto our 'stuff'. Christ has asked us to be generous and we've been stingy. What have we missed? What stories of Christ's miraculous power have we missed because we wouldn't give when he asked.
Be child-like. When the Spirit asks; give.
2. Be careful who you listen to.
In Mark 9:42, we hear Jesus giving caution to his disciples to not lead "little ones", those who believe in Jesus, into sin. What is often lost is that this is not just a warning to those who would lead little children into sin. It's also a caution to children to be careful who you listen to.
We tell our kids that when they choose their friends or their acquaintances, they should choose well because the wrong person can take them down the wrong path.
Do we hear that wisdom too?
Are we careful in who we spend time with? Are we cautious when our friends pursue things that are not God-glorifying? Are we wise in the type of rhetoric, or news station, or media sources we take in? Do we understand what is put into our hearts and our minds by the people we engage with can't help but transform us for good or for evil?
Living a child-like life in Christ means that we want to be a part of things that honor God always. Be careful little ears what you hear.
3. Live every day prepared for Christ's return.
In Matthew 25:1-13 we hear the parable of the ten virgins. Remember? 5 don't have oil and miss the wedding party. 5 have extra oil and are let in to the celebration.
These virgins are probably all less than 14 years old since that was the traditional marrying age. These are kids and some get it right and reap the benefit. Some get it wrong and reap the consequence.
A child of God sees every day as an opportunity to remind the 'bridegroom' (Jesus) that we're ready for Him if He arrives now. We having loving hearts that show that love in our world. We have minds that are constantly tuned into how fond we are of the one who gives us reason to celebrate. Giving ourselves to Him is not a once a week activity. It is every second of every moment of every hour of every day.
4. When Jesus calls you, you go.
In Luke 6:12-16 we hear about a special group in the life of Jesus. He calls his 12 disciples. Now often we think of these guys as older men (25+) that Jesus picked to be a part of his ministry. History tells us a different story.
Jesus is a rabbi, a teacher. And a Jewish teacher would call disciples in generally the same way. He would call an older disciple who became his helper in travel and teaching. Generally, scholars think this is Peter. That makes sense. He was certainly the leader of the group. But most of the other disciples were teenagers. We're not sure how old each one was, but we can imagine that James and John were younger. I mean their mom was a helicopter parent trying to position her boys in the best spot in the Kingdom (Matthew 20:20-23).
These guys were young. They didn't understand everything, but they did know that something spectacular had happened; they had been called by Jesus and they would go where He went. Yes, they made mistakes and they got things wrong over and over again. But they also got a VIP position to see the greatest movement in the history of our world. They got to see, hear, and live with Jesus.
When we are 'childish' in our faith and listen to the Spirit, His calling is not a barrier to overcome. It's an adventure to begin. We don't know what will happen, but we do know that it's better than anything else we can ever imagine.
5. Be with Jesus.
This is my favorite. It comes straight from the original story in Mark 10 of the children around Jesus. These little scamps got up close into the arms of Jesus and wouldn't let go. And (hear this. This is good!) "...He took the children in his arms, placed His hands on them and blessed them." (10:16)
These kids got a bonafide Jesus hug. Because they were kids, they weren't going to be deterred in being close to the source of all love, warmth and compassion. They got what all of us long for. They were embraced by the Creator of the Universe.
No one could stop them. Jesus made sure of that. And no one should stop us.
No matter what pain or burden we experience in this life, be like a child and be with Jesus.
No matter how much the world or anyone tells you that believing is foolish, or a sign of weakness, or for suckers, be like a child and be with Jesus.
No matter how scared you get by the craziness of the world we live in, be like a child and be like Jesus.
Run into His embrace in worship. Cry on His shoulder in prayer. Spend time on His lap in reading His stories in scripture.
And every time you do, you are deep in His loving embrace.
Be childish. It's what Jesus wants.
Blessings,
Pastor Scott
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