I have always been intrigued and challenged by Matthew 18: 1-4, especially "unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." I think it is one of those verses that you spend your whole life studying, but here are two events that I think provide some answers.
I sit behind this family in church. There is a grandfather, a grandmother, a mother, and her children. The children love their grandparents. I don't think the children get to see the grandparents that much. And the grandparents probably spoil the children. Well, one day the grandfather got up to take one grandson to the bathroom. The other grandson watched his grandfather walk away, and his eyes showed how much he loved his grandfather. They were big and empty and devastated. When the grandfather came back, the eyes were filled with joy. That is love. It is innocent and unconditional and overwhelming. It is overpowering. If I could love Jesus and God like that, then I would be truly welcome in the kingdom of heaven.
The other day before the real snow there were flurries. I saw this eighteen-nineteen year old freshman or sophomore sticking her tongue out to taste the snow. She didn't care how she looked. Her passion and her innocence and her zest for life were on full display for the world to see. That lack of caring for convention and the world is another quality befitting someone focused on the kingdom of heaven. Young children don't care how they look. And neither should we.
Lord, help us to remain childlike. Help us to innocently love You. Help us be righteous in your eyes and not follow the devil's whims. Help us to be passionate and stop caring about how we look. Help us to stop caring about the Jones next door. Help us to remember that if the kingdom of heaven is our goal, then we must follow Christ like young children follow their parents and grandparents, unconditionally. It is in Jesus' blessed name we pray. Amen.
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