Luke 18:15-17 ESV) Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
So the people brought infants to Jesus and the disciples sent them away, later to be lovingly rebuked by their savior... This was not the first time they had been rebuked. This was not the first time that Jesus had acted out of the norm and was by far not the only time I had read about Jesus being gentle toward the lowly and ill, the unpolished and un-esteemed. What is Jesus saying to me? What is he saying to us? It shouldn't be that hard right?
“Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
When I think about what is different now than when I was a child, I see just a couple of things;
my outlook on possibility
my wonder and longing, passionate pursuit for things of beauty.
So I decided to explore these areas in the hope that what Jesus was saying wasn't complicated at all, but rather something that could be understood by a child such as myself.
Outlook on Possibility
The older I get I see less and less as possible.
It’s easy to think you are going to be a race car driver or famous musician while you are young, but as you get older, even the most practical dreams start to fade into the reality of time.
I was talking to Laura the other night and posed the question, "I wonder what it's like to come to a place where you realize that there is more to look back on than to look forward to". I think about how Abram must have felt when Sarai was barren. God had done all this great stuff through him and around him and had promised to make a great nation out of his offspring but this one thing, this one promise was still left unfulfilled. WIthout children, how could a great nation be born, and the older Abram and Sarai got, the more the reality of time must have taken over his psyche. Logic shone a spotlight on the reality that very old people just don’t have babies. I bet he would lie next to Sarai in the tent and lament, "well, it's been a good run, but looks like we are about out of time for that kid that God promised..."
So we settle for less and contrive ways to bring about those dreams in lesser forms. Maybe we didn’t become a race car driver, but we can save up for BMW and feel like one.
I heard a story once about some soldiers who had made it safely out of a horrible battle only to find out that one of them had been left behind. After much deliberation, they decided that they would go back into battle, even though they were almost certain that their comrade could not be saved. So they fought their way back into the thick of the fight and found their friend still alive, hunkered down in a foxhole or something. When he looked up into the faces of his friends he smiled sheepishly and said "I knew you'd come."
They had all but lost hope, but the spark that remained was enough for them to try against all odds. There as a possibility, faint though it was, that their friend was still alive.
So maybe when Jesus says that to enter the kingdom, I need to come as a child, he is talking about that glimmer of hope. Maybe he is speaking to that place where I feel the possibility pool has been drained - that I’ll never write a novel or I’ll never be the husband I need to be; maybe that is where he wants me to come to him like a child and ignore my knowledge of what was or what should be, and replace it with the childlike possibility that my son Jonathan comes to me with when he hands me the wooden race car that he broke from using it as a hammer, "fix it daddy" he says. There is no doubt in his mind that I will. He may have used it improperly or broken it on purpose, but aside from a gentle urging to him not to repeat the misuse, he is immediately forgiven as I rush to the shop for the wood glue. Maybe you are out of work or hanging on to a job you hate because you fear leaving before you have something else lined up. Maybe you are struggling with that same sin over and over again, or the guilt that comes from divorce. Maybe he's calling you and me to come to him with fresh eyes of possibility and to ask with a heart full of trust for daddy to "fix it".
Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
Longing and passionate pursuit of beauty
I love being a dad. Its like everything I do is met with the wide eyes of my son. As long as I act excited about something, he is excited too. I remember when he was a baby I would hold him near the window in his room so he could look out at the sun or the stars and I would tell him "see, outside is better than inside". Now that he is older, I approach him with the wonder of adventure as I tell him with maniacal eyes and an excited voice that we are headed on an adventure today, and if I craft it just right, he stays excited as we travel to the mysterious land of Wal Mart. But I can already see how it is getting harder and harder to fill him with a sense of wonder. One day, Shrek and donkey won't be enough.
As a teenager I had this insatiable longing to be in love. Not the way my parents were in love or the way that other couples I knew were in love, but real, love the way Hollywood does it. You know, the real stuff. While I grew up on the beaches of south florida with beautiful ocean around, under and over me, none of it was as elusive as what I believed was the love I saw in the movies. It was passionate and filled with a central focus in which nothing else mattered. There were no bills to pay, worries about the cost of gas, and no one ever took Advil for a headache and went to bed at eight. This was what I wanted, something beautiful that was worth giving it all and sacrificing everything for my quest or for the girl who was my “soulmate”
One day I would find out that the love in the movies was contrived and that the passion that I hungered for within relationships only occurred in inadequate moments. So what happened to my wonder and passion for beauty? I think it died because I was finding my motivation and inspiration in the wrong place. I was looking for the infinite in the finite, for an unending flame in a pile of burning wood. How could the beauty of the inside of a curling wave or the touch of someone’s hand ever transcend their discovery?
People were bringing their children to Jesus so that he would bless them. Why do we pray blessing for our children and the ones that we love? Could it be that we desire that our loved ones live full and passionate lives and that the blessing that we seek is asked for in hope that God would grant it? If that is the motivation, and Jesus knows our hearts, then we can come to the conclusion that when he says "let them come to me", he is saying that a blessed life is exactly what he wants to give us! A life full of longing for him in wonder of what he will reveal next about what and who he has made you to be. You see the wonder that we have as a child dies because it lies within that which can be explained. We are amazed by the things we experience or see for the first time, but become less amazing each time we experience them. Could it be that Jesus is asking us to come to him daily, with wide eyes in expectation as we ask “What is our adventure today daddy?”
John Piper says :”God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him”
Do we agree with that statement? Because if we really do, we are faced with a decision that requires us to come to Jesus like a child; with all our sin (yes, children have sin) all our inadequacies, all our prejudices, all our pride - all our junk. Jesus is telling us to throw ourselves passionately, into his arms with wonder as to his greatness and to say “I have nothing to offer you, but I know You love me, so what do you have for me today?”
God has made me, and God has made you exactly how he intended to make you and exactly how he intended to make me.
So what is my problem? How many times do I find myself doubting the person that God has made me and I feel like my opinion doesn’t matter, so I don’t speak up. How many times do I see the person that I know I need to carefully serve today, and I quietly walk by hoping they won’t notice me. How many times do I look Jesus in the face and say I know you love me and want what is best for me, but I’m just not trusting it today, so I’m going to do my own thing... besides, what you are asking is way too radical, and I’m just not sure you are going to come through. The problem is that I have gotten old, and wise and I haven’t tempered my wisdom with a proper understanding of how much Jesus really loves me and wants more than anything for me to be the man that he made me to be.
Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
That day there were important things to do, and people with needs much bigger issues than the blessing of infants. The disciples knew this as they began to try to chase the parents with their children away so that Jesus could get to the important stuff. But the Bible tells us that Jesus lovingly pulls them aside. He didn’t want to make a spectacle out of their lack of understanding, but wanted to teach them. It is as if he was saying, “I know you think you understand what is going on here, but you don’t. Because if you did, you would see that each person, no matter age, status, sinfulness or stature holds the same position in my kingdom. If you really understood, you would see that those who really know why I am here are those whose eyes haven’t been clouded by hurt, and whose open arms have never been rejected and whose requests are always met with understanding and love.
Repeat this statement out loud with me. Jon, I know who you are and what you are made for more than you will ever know; open your eyes to the wonder of what I have prepared for you, the one I love. For to such as these belongs the kingdom of heaven.
Am I limiting what He has made me to be and do because my outlook on possibility is skewed and my passionate pursuit of beauty is focused on the finite instead of the infinite? Am I coming to God like a child and saying “What adventure do you have for me today?”
I called my mom this week just to catch up, and we started talking about this very thing. You see, my mom is the most giving person I know. At Christmas and thanksgiving, she is the hardest person to buy for because she never wants something just for her. It’s always something like, “I want a table big enough for everyone to sit down together.” or if it is for her it’s always practical like a new dishwasher. On Christmas and Thanksgiving when everyone is focused on having a nice time with family, my mom is thinking about people who have no where to go... and as a result, they have Christmas with our family. And as we spoke, my mom said to me “I hope that my desire to care for others isn’t motivated selfishly so I can get another feather in my cap.” and I stopped her right there. I said, “Mom, if that were the case, it would have stopped a long time ago. This is who God has made you to be - hyper, joyful and all about those who don’t have what you do, whether it’s is material or spiritual.” You see, when my mom sees someone hurting, she hurts, and when she sees someone joyful or finds a light in a dark place, she camps out there and brings everyone around her with her.
And I don’t tell you this to glorify my mom, because it hasn’t always been this way, it has been a process. But I think that where she is succeeding is in seeing God rightly. She fought through negativity and hurt and watching the sickness of others her whole life, and through the power of God’s grace and the miracle of God-given unjaded child eyes, my mom still sees Jesus as a father who says, “I know it’s hard, but I made you to care for others and to bring comfort and joy. You are made perfectly for my purpose and I am proud of you.”
Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
So my challenge to you is this. Am I starting every day with eyes full of wonder, asking my father “What adventure do you have for us today dad?”
Over and over again, we see Jesus rebuke the religious leaders and prefer those who come to him in humility with nothing of themselves to offer, and he gives them everything they will ever need by simply revealing to them who he has made them to be.
It is a process, and even in writing this entry, he had to tear away the walls that I constructed so that he could say - “Yeah, I know all that you wrote is true, but what do I want YOU to say today... I gave you your outlook viewpoint and even directed you to this passage. Your job today is to discover what I want to reveal about me through who I made you. Join me on our adventure today.”
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