The scene is not hard to imagine. Dozens of children smiling, laughing, looking in awe and admiration at the One in their midst. He squats in the middle of their laughter, reaching His fingers out to tossle someone's hair, speaking words of hope and love, all the while grinning with deep joy as He looks into the faces of those around Him. He doesn't mind the stench of their unwashed bodies. He is not deterred by the grotesque scars that mark their skin or those across their battered hearts. These are the ones He was sent here for. These are the ones that enrapture the heart of His Father.
Christ came "for the least of these": for the orphan, the widow, the weak, the destitute, the decrepit and poor in spirit. He came for the heartbroken, the lonely, the one who feels unworthy or unloveable. He came for you and for me.
As we have traveled the world, again and again we have seen firsthand the poverty that ravages communities. The ground is often clean of litter, not because there is no trash, but because every piece of plastic or paper is precious and cannot be wasted. Urine-stained walls and mosquito-infested puddles of stagnant water are passed by children playing with toys made from pieces of broken wire and string. It is not uncommon to see half-clothed children picking lice nits out of one another's hair.
But despite their external circumstances, the joy that fills these children's faces when we encounter Jesus together makes them seem like the wealthiest souls in the world. They are content, not because they don't know any better, but because the joy they have found in Christ surpasses every worldly possession they could ever accumulate.
In Jesus' famous Sermon on the Mount, He started with, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." He turns the world's mindset upside down, saying that it is not the wealthy or the powerful, the successful or the most influential individuals who have full access to the greatest of all kingdoms. Instead, it belongs to those who are destitute in spirit, to those who have nothing to hold their spirit back from entering and taking full possession of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Let's be honest: we adults think we have all the answers. But I believe there is much we can learn from children. After all, these are the ones that Jesus says we must become like if we are to enter the kingdom of heaven. He also says, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and have revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, this was for Your good pleasure." (Luke 10:21).
It baffles my mind to consider God's paradoxical realtiy…that God reveals His love, his heart, and His truth to those who may seem so undeserving or insignificant in the eyes of the world. And yet He does so with great pleasure.
Jesus said, "Whoever welcomes this child in my Name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent me. For he who is least among you all, he is the greatest." (Luke 9:48)
As I walk through the squatter villages of Manila, or look into the eyes of the orphans in Malaybalay, or as I hold the fingers of malnourished infants, I am overwhelmed by the love God has for these. And the truth is that, though I may come from a different background, I am no better than them. I, too, am among the least of these, so desperate for the love of God, my Father, and so hungry for His Kingdom to come.
And I am humbled by the grace of a mighty King, who squats with me in the dirt and teaches me how to love the least of these, because He loved me first.
