Matthew 18:2-3 NSV
And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
I am a child. I’m too short to reach most things, especially the top shelf. I have to ask for help. I can’t drive. I have to trust that someone will get me where I need to be. I can’t read a calendar. So I have to have faith that someone will tell me it’s my birthday. I don’t know how to spell really big words, and I might not be able to add or even write my own name. I need a Teacher. Even if I knew how to cook, I don’t have any money for groceries. I need a Provider. Sometimes, I don’t like to share. I need a Mediator. Sometimes, I fall and get hurt. I need a Protector. I can get really lost. I need a Guiding Light.
There are things I just won’t do! I won’t see color. I won’t see status. I won’t care what you think, and I won’t be two-faced. And there are some things I do really well! I forgive fast and forget even faster! I love to play! I love to sing and dance with abandon! I love to create! I love to tell the world about my joy! I love to ask, why? I love to hug, and I love to love. I am free to be free!
No wonder Jesus used a child as the example in Matthew 18: 2-5. Jesus didn’t say we were to be childish, but childlike. We often say, “adulting is hard.” And it is. We have responsibilities, but do we make it harder on ourselves because we forget we have a Father, Protector, Provider, and Best Friend? He waits for us to come to Him and ask for help, to trust, and to have faith. He is our Guiding Light, Mediator, and Teacher. Throw off the bindings and trappings of our earthly world and dance freely with joy and worship with abandon all the way to the Kingdom.
Because, I am a child and I am me, favored by the I Am.
