He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me…” Matthew 18.2-5
How many times have you ever read or heard a verse, oftentimes frequently, and suddenly out of nowhere you read it and you are so taken aback by the implication and meaning of it that you are left speechless for a moment? That was me this evening and as I read this verse again that I had only bookmarked earlier in the evening, and I was taken aback. The impact in which it moved me was shattering…
Stop and think of how a child needs their parent. How they seek their guidance, their protection and their love. How they need to be nurtured but to also learn what discipline is. To be shaped into whom they are meant to be. Children are like little sponges, soaking up love from whatever source they can obtain it from.
And that unconditional love that a child holds for others is by far something that we all could take lessons from. Even when their stories aren’t the fairy-tale or perfect life that so many believe children are automatically blessed to live, children love anyways.
You can strike down a child a hundred times and they’ll still find love for you in their hearts.
You can tell a child every day of their lives that they aren’t good enough and they’ll go out of their way to make sure everyone else around them feels like they’re somebody special.
You can abandon a child for years and they’ll still eagerly wait for you to arrive one day even though they know you won’t stay in their lives for very long.
You can lie to a child, break promise after promise and they’ll still believe you the next time you say, “I swear.”
Love is their universal language and it is their cure-all. Love is their everything and in everything that they do. Children are love. A child’s love holds onto hope, and it holds onto that hope with a grip so tight that sometimes it hurts them more to let go than it does to keep holding on because that hope is all they have left.
Stop and think of how children were treated back in the times that Jesus was alive. To be honest I wonder if it was much different than what I depicted above? Children weren’t seen as being of much value, surely not as we see them today. So ill treatment would have been expected and most likely accepted.
And they still loved, trusted and held onto their hope in the adults in their lives. They still had an innocence about them that was honored and treasured and that alone was seen as a value and a virtue. It was that innocence that fueled their unconditional love and their devotion. They didn’t have a society telling them that what they were doing or how they were feeling was wrong.
I look at children today and at how the age of innocence is almost non-existent now and my heart breaks. Everyone is in this all fire hurry to have their children grow up, so they either don’t allow them the graces of childhood or they ruin it way too soon and for what reason? That is something I truly can not yet understand. I watch as elementary age children are exposed to adult situations daily by the parents/guardians; they’re allowing them to run around not only looking but also acting like they’re twice their age then crying foul when their kid gets into trouble… but we’ll save that for another day.
I don’t think Jesus’ intention was for us to change children into anything but to further nurture the virtuous, humble and loving beings that they already were. They were meant to be the example, and we’ve butchered that horribly as a society. We were meant to learn and let them lead us by example but yet we’ve completely railroaded that over the last few years, haven’t we? Children are the very definition of unconditional love and we have completely taken that for granted… He gave us that key in that verse.
How many times have you looked at a child and put yourself automatically above them simply because you’re the adult? You’re smarter, you’ve been through more in life so therefore you deserve their respect, right? I want us to look at that child again, really look at them and watch how they interact with a person, or in a scenario. I really think so many of us need to stop, slow down and reflect upon what it is He was trying to tell us here. You gotta let it go, all of it. All of those things that you have collected over the years that have made you who you are, let it go. If you wanna go with him in heaven, you are going to have to be anew and let him create within you who he wants you to be. You’re going to have to love unconditionally, hope even when it hurts and trust even the things you can not see to trust in. And reckless faith, let it be what guides you in everything that you do!
Just as a child doesn’t think twice before they jump because they absolutely know that Mommy or Daddy will be there to catch them, maybe that’s the simple meaning of it all. It’s that blind faith in knowing that our Father will be there to catch us, too.
We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4.19
Billie is a 40-something stay-at-home momma of five beautiful children and Grammy to three grandchildren. When not wrangling the littles, she babysits for her two adult children. You will find her gardening, canning, baking, and making the most delicious meals for her family. Billie is a multitasker juggling a team of miniature tyrants, a cat, a snake, two dogs, two rats, and nine chickens. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and studying her bible. Her passion is sharing the gospel through her writing! So, whether she’s feeding your body with delicious meals or feeding your soul through her writing, join Billie as she takes you on a journey providing you with “Food for Thought.”
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