“‘Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.'” (Mar 10:13-15)
Journal,
What is it about children?
Why did Jesus compare entering the kingdom of God to that of a child? He said, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”
Is it possible that Jesus is addressing the innocence of children? After all children live in a world of trust. This is especially true when it comes to parents.
Could it also be that the Lord is drawing on the wonder of a child’s world?
I well remember gathering my grandchildren near to share the story of David and Goliath. The moment I began with, “It happened a long, long time ago, in a land far away”, you could see their eyes light up with wonderment.
Oh, if we but had the eyes of children.
You see, children have such a rich imagination. The can visualize things in a way that is often lost to we adults.
It is sad that in our growing older we tend to lose the wonderment world of a child. Instead of looking through the eyes of wonder, we often become hard, and critical and judgmental.
Why do we tend to become critical over the years? I think it has to do with discovering that life has its dark moments. We become more aware of our own failures and the failures of those around us.
The real answer is that sin has a way of marring everything that is beautiful.
But God gave us an answer to the bad things of life. The Lord said that He would give us a new heart and give us once again the eyes of wonder.
It all revolves around…
A Walk of Simple Devotion
Oh, yes, it is sad to note that sometimes even our religions can stifle this childlike wonderment of the child of God. Paul had to deal with that very thing in writing to the Corinthian. He said,
“But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” (2Co 11:3)
God intended our walk with him to be a walk of simplicity, and trust, and pure devotion to the Lord Jesus.
Notice what Jesus said to the disciples about their ministry:
“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Mat 10:16)
OK, I know what you are thinking. Whats the deal on the car picture above?
Glad you asked. It relates to a childlike faith. This is where I need to tell you ….
My Story of the 1929 Plymouth
A near likeness to Speedy.
It happened in May of 1949. Our train pulled into the station at Anacoco, Louisiana. It was mama, and me, and my two sisters, Bertie and Julia.
When we stepped off the train, a young man was waiting to meet us. He grabbed mama in a big bear hug and swung her around. Then he began hugging on us three children.
Yup, the young man was Cullen Ray Carver, my mama’s youngest brother. He was there to pick us up in his 1929 Plymouth. So he did and off we went to our grandparents home.
May of 1949, and that 1929 Plymouth, began a new phase in my life, a time of wonderment. For the next few years I would explore …
A Child’s World of Wonderment
My mother came from a family of twelve siblings. In California I was familiar with three of my mothers siblings, Uncle Holiday, Uncle Grover, and Aunt Cecelia. But I didn’t know that mama had eight other brothers and sisters. And they were all in Louisiana.
This meant there were tons of cousins that I had never met.
I cannot describe how this world of wonderment affected me as a child. The family love, the laughter, the pickings, the get-togethers, and the cousins by the bushels.
It was like I had stepped back in time. Grandpa Carver had a one-horse sugar cane mill, a black smith shop, a duck pond, and a horse named, ‘Speedy’. Uncle Cullen would hitch Speedy up and take us on wagon rides. There are just too many wonderful memories to try to capture.
Grandpa Martin’s Store
But it didn’t stop there. I was also going to meet my dad’s family. (Mom and dad had divorced several years before. They would remarry not long after we returned to Louisiana.)
Yep, Grandpa and Grandma Martin’s world continued with the wonderment.
All of dad’s siblings, except for one, had settled right near Grandpa and Grandma. It fact it seemed the community were we lived, were all kinsfolk.
Actually they were. Most everyone was from the original pioneers who had settled the land.
So off goes the grand tour with dozens of Martin cousins.
Oh well, how I could ramble. But there is a point to all this.
It think it is important that believers never lose their sense of wonderment.
Don’t let the world, your situations, your circumstances, or anything else rob you of your wonderful childlike walk with Jesus.
Let’s hear it from the man after God’s heart.
David’s Childlike Prayer
When I was just a wee lad, my mom taught me this children’s prayer:
“Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord, my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”
I loved that prayer.
But David also gave us something we should learn to say. It has to do with retaining our childlike faith.
Listen to David and let this become part of your own childlike faith –
“O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; nor do I involve myself in great matters, or in things too difficult for me. Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; like a weaned child rests against his mother, my soul is like a weaned child within me. O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forever.” (Psa 131:1-3)
My encouragement is that you learn to wake up every morning with anticipation for God’s wonders for the day.
Yes, it is a wonderful life when it is lived for the Lord Jesus. Even in our deepest trials we can still see the wonders of God.
OK, now for the ‘Chitty, chitty, bang, bang.’
Don’t know why I chose ‘Chitty, chitty, bang, bang, for a blog title. Guess its because that movie stirred up memories of my childhood, and of the 29 Plymouth. No, it wasn’t a flying car.
Maybe you would like listen to the theme song for Chitty, chitty, bang, bang. Here is your chance.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P2jiRPlq2U[/youtube]
In Christ always,
Buddy
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