Do you love like a child or believe like a child? Here it is plain and simple in scripture, "Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it all all." (Mark10:15) For a long time I had a hard time understanding this part of scripture because I thought it weird that we were suppose to actually think as a child thinks. This past weekend I got the awesome privilege to serve with a missions organization in the Appalachian region of Kentucky called Big Creek. We held a day camp for children on saturday and gave about 150 families food for their pantries; on sunday we attended local churches and then went into the community and loved on older adults and widows; on monday we served in many areas such as a clothing distribution site, doing construction on a local home and helping out at an adult care facility; lastly on tuesday we did cleaning at the mission site, more construction, and some of us got to go to the elementary school and help out with the children and do things for the teachers. In the time that I had there I thought a lot about what it means to receive the kingdom of God like a child:
First, children love like we are suppose to love. This weekend I fell in love with S. one of the local children. Five seconds after knowing me we became best friends. He grabbed my leg and just clung to it with a death grip. Then he demanded that I carry him on my back. I mean he was about 7, so way older than most kids you would carry around, but he melted my heart with just one smile. I could no longer resist. We ran around for what seemed like an hour or so. Can You image what it felt like for me to do this? Half the time I thought I would just buckle over not because he weighed a crazy amount but because after awhile any weight can become very hard to hold up. You might have kids or maybe you watch kids often and know what this experience is like. I think there are two things we learn from pictures like this: One is that God longs for us to love him with this death grip type of love. The type of love that says carry me because life is more fun on your back than when I am on my own two feet. Two, God loves to carry us no matter how heavy life seems to get. He holds on real tight. "I hold on to you for dear life, and you hold me steady as a post." (Psalm 63:8 in the message).
Second, children listen to every world that you say. This can be a good and a bad thing because sometimes adult's agendas do not have the little one's best at heart. I saw children who had little guidance in their life and therefor did as they pleased even at such a young age. Now don't get me wrong I know that most toddlers favorite word is no but the language that came out of some of the kid's mouths was way worse than, "NO!" They would tell you to shut your stupid mouth or I will kick you. It reminded me a lot of the movie Talladega Nights and how the little boys talked at the dinner table. I believe this was the result of children who watched and learned from others. I learned that God is jealous for our minds. He wants to teach us and out of His teaching he wants us live. Small children do just this they take things very literally and they are ready to be molded.
Third, they know that they are dependent on someone bigger than themselves to care for their needs. They can not live on their own. It is always very sad to me when a child is abandoned on the streets because they are not meant to be independent. They need someone to care for them. I truly believe this is why God loves kids so much. He loves them because he loves the dependent. He longs for us to depend completely on himself. I will be the first to admit that this is one of the hardest things for me to accept. I daily have to say to God take my life today. If I don't I fail miserably because we are so dependent on Him. We were never created to be independent. God does grant us freedom to choose and that is why we serve an amazing God. Even though the choice is ours we need Him. I got the chance to hold a 3 month old little boy this weekend as well. He had a pretty rough life already. He was living with his grandmother and sister because his dad had a meth lab in their home. The grandmother knew that the child had a better chance if he came to stay with her instead. She was older in her years and had a hard time but she knew that sweet baby B. apart from her could not survive. He needed someone to feed him and change him and hold him while he falls asleep. This reminded me of what jesus said in John 15:5, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
I am glad to have spent my last fall break in college remembering and getting pictures of these truths. God thought it was important for us to understand and because of this so do I. Maybe we should all spend more time with children. Even though they need us, sometimes we need them. I am in prayer that we would take these truths and live accordingly. Daily I need, to need him, above all else. I think God took me to Ky to remind me of this. It is easy to lose sight of Him and to place importance on worldly things- relationships, school, money, etc. PRAYING for you and me. Join me!!!
