“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:3
I don’t remember what it was like to be 6. That was quite awhile ago. I don’t really have much experience with 6 year olds. My little cousins are beginning to hit that age now. In South Africa, I have made a friend, who is 6 years old. We get along great, but sometimes I wonder, is she normal for a 6 year old?
Some things my friend says, completely take me off guard and blow my mind. She can talk about the tooth fairy one minute, and we can run around dresing up as princesses, and the next she can describe to me a gruesome car accident scene. Walking to the beach today, we passed a cemetery. She went on to explain to me about how she doesn’t like cemeteries. (Okay, I can agree, I don’t like cemeteries either). And how she is sad because her kitty died. (Okay that makes sense, I am sad after my animals die too.) But what really struck me, is when she told me, “I’m scared to die.” My first thought was. “WHY IS A 6 YEAR OLD EVEN THINKING ABOUT DYING?” Correct me if I am wrong Mom, but I am pretty sure that when I was 6 years old I was not thinking about death. I asked my friend questions in order to get to the root as to why she is scared of death, but she really had no reason (or didn’t want to share). I tried to assure her that as long as she believes in God and Jesus, she needn’t worry about dying, and things will be so much better in heaven anyway.
Is death really that much of a reality for these children? These children live in a township called Capricorn. Basically it is government housing for those who are pretty much the poorest of the poor. When you walk into the township, the whole community has a different atmosphere about it. You can tell this place is completely different than the numerous beach homes in Muizenburg. It’s only a 20 minute walk between the two communities, but they are worlds apart.
Jesus says in Mark 10:14-15,
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Spending more time with my friend has me thinking, ‘is this the type of Childlike Spirirt Jesus meant?’ Obviously God knew what was going on in the world, but when Jesus spoke, I am sure He didn’t intend a childlike spirit to be filled with death, fear, and adult like problems. Instead, He intended it to be full of joy, peace, youthful zeal and innocence. But somewhere down the road, that ‘Childlike Spirit’ has been tainted. And this is something that I feel will only continue to worsen as children are burdened with our adult problems instead of simply living and having fun as children should. Why would we want children to grow up quicker when it’s obvious that the kingdom of God belongs to ones such as those? Why are we not trying to stay children as long as possible?
This afternoon, I enjoyed a time of being a child again. Frolicking out to the ocean, rolling in the waves, being covered in sand, and walking around barefoot, but most important: living without a care and just having fun. Even about 10 minutes after the shark alarm went off, I was back in the water enjoying my afternoon. Nothing, not even swimming with great white sharks, was going to hinder my opportunity to once again have that genuine Childlike Spirit if even it was only for an afternoon.
