“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” —Mark 10:14
This is my friend José. I met him this month in Tambo de Mora, Perú. He is 5 years old and so full of life. Just look at that smile!
We are doing a few different things in ministry this month, but we’re working mostly with children. I’ve learned a lot from José as well as many other beautiful Peruvian children this month.
They are always excited. Always smiling. Always ready to jump rope or play soccer or color. The older ones always look out for their younger siblings. They ask a lot of questions. And they remember the answers. They know that my name is Catalina and that Barcelona is my team. When they see me or one of the other “gringitas”, they run and jump in our arms, giving the biggest bear hugs. They tell me about their own lives. Sometimes they don’t say anything, and they just want to hold my hand or sit in my lap. They are beautiful. Oh, so beautiful!
On Saturday night, we had a movie night at the church and we showed The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. We thought it was fitting since Easter was the next day and the movie is such a cool parallel to the gospel. During the movie, little José came to sit in my lap. He’s literally so cute that I can hardly stand it! The whole movie, he was watching intently, covering his eyes if something slightly scary was happening. When good things happened, he would get excited and laugh.
Toward the end of the movie, when Aslan is killed, José was upset. But Aslan is raised from the dead in the movie in the same way that Jesus was raised from the dead in real life. When Aslan reappears in the movie, alive and powerful and in all his glory, José was so excited! He began to laugh his precious little laugh and began to clap in celebration, saying “¡Está vivo!” or “He’s alive!”
José, a young child, feels the freedom to be scared and sad and excited, and he taught me something about life. He knew that the lion who represented Jesus overcame the witch who represents evil and sin, and rightfully so, he thought that was worthy of celebration.
I think I have lost sight of just how powerful and crazy and awesome it is that Jesus overcame death and sin and he did it because he loves me. Maybe its because I grew up in church and have just always known about the cross and resurrection, but I think the more likely explanation is that I have forgotten how to have faith like a child.
José reminded me how.
Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. Ephesians 5:1-2
