To Receive the Kingdom of God like a Child

Scripture Reading: Mark 10: 13 - 16 (NIV)
People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.
Message: To Receive the Kingdom of God like a Child
The Rabbi and the children - Interrupted
Jesus shocked people around Him to take children into his arms
I don’t think we understand how unusual it was for a Rabbi to stop in the middle of his ministry and to pay attention to children, while putting the adults on hold
In doing this, Jesus interrupted the normal flow of the interaction He had with people around Him
In between all the healings and teachings - which were pretty revolutionary themselves - Jesus takes children into his arms!?
The disciples did not like this interruption - they instinctively and true to the behaviour of and adult, tried to stop it…
Us adults, reflecting on this story this morning, are scheduled to be interrupted in our spiritual lives…
Let’s not resist the interruption in our lives this morning…
The act of Receiving
Instead of resisting the interruption this morning, we are called to receive
Jesus says: “Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Let’s pause for a moment to consider the word “receive” here
We need to “receive” the Kingdom of God like a child…
Not perform and do things to deserve it…
Not behave appropriately to be considered good enough…
Not have a certain level of knowledge to be accepted…
Not even be ordained or baptized or have membership to be able to receive the Kingdom of God!
And yet, we tend to find things that we think is more important than just simply receiving from God
Let us change our posture into a posture of receiving what God is giving us in his grace… (Communion is the perfect example of receiving)
Embrace the Kingdom of God like a child
It sounds to me like Jesus saying that we adults need to start learning from the children in our lives again!
Here’s some ways we can learn from children to receive the Kingdom of God:
- Stop pretending and be authentic: We, who are still practicing religion, have grown into a groove of how things are supposed to be done in the church. Our religion creates something of an appearance in all the formal structures of our practices. Why can’t we just let go of all of that and just be like children before God - admitting that we need Him and that without Him we would be lost and struggling? It is not a shame to be dependent on God, yet somehow we adults have grown to have pride in pretending that we have it all figured out.
- Learn to Trust again: Can we re-learn to trust in God? We adults worry so much and are always so concerned not to make mistakes and to maintain what we have that we miss some of the beautiful things that God has in mind for us. We choose to trust in budgets and insurance and structures and formal religion, rather than trusting in God to provide. How beautiful would it not be if can re-learn just to trust in God like children do?
- Be Open and Curious: When you think you’ve heard it all and you have it all figured out, you close your mind to new experiences without even realizing it. Children are like sponges - just taking in new experiences. Us adults - in contrast - feel threatened by any new experience. To receive God’s Kingdom requires us to be open and curious in our spiritual life - taking in new experiences…allowing yourself to have new experiences.
- Asking Questions: And on the though of curiosity - children ask questions. They are not concerned what people around the would think of them if they ask a question. Somewhere down the line, we adults have lost our openness to asking questions… and sadly, we have lost our willingness to think about what is before us. Asking questions also helps us to think as a collective more and more and it helps to start learning again in our faith.
- Be Joyful and expressive: We adults are so reserved - over the years we have learned to behave and we have un-learned to express our emotions. I do believe that is what we struggle so much with our mental health. We suppress our emotions - especially in the church! That is sad! Children express joy and wonder, they let you know when they are sad. Challenge yourself to start using expressive language more and more, and see how we can change the clinical vibe in the room into something warm and authentic!
- Be Forgiving: Children forgive easily. That is one of the reasons why they manage to live carefree lives. Adults carry carry grudges and remember too much! Children know how to let go - they have a forgiving spirit. We would be so much better off letting go of our grudges and the resentment we are carrying within us.
- Be playful: Why are we so serious? Why do we adults like to stiffen our necks at playfulness in practicing our faith. We tend to think that if we are playful and having fun we are not serious about practicing our faith. We think our faith needs to be heavy to illustrate that we are serious. And then we loose out on so much that could be learned in playful experiences. Let’s learn to loosen up when we pray and when we worship.
- Be fully present: Children know how to live in the moment! They know how to put all the worries and thoughts aside and just be present in what is happening right here and right now. Worshipping God provides us with a wonderful opportunity just to leave all our guilt, shame and anxieties, and even our ambitions and planning for the future at the door and just embrace the healing presence of God in a special space. I know it sometimes hard just to leave you stuff at the door, but we can… and you are warmly invited to do so!
- Connect: Children are spontaneous when they feel safe. They would connect with people around them on a level that is astounding. Being spontaneous is a measure of the safety of our space. This is where we all can contribute in keeping our place of worship emotionally safe so that we are able to connect more like children. We connect where we belong.
- Keep it Simple: Somewhere adults have learned that they might sound more important if they complicate things. We use important language or acronyms, we love to think up “what if” scenarios (90% of which never come to be) and in doing so miss out on so much of what is right in front of us. We can receive God’s Kingdom like children by keeping what we do, simple… it’s as simple as that!
Receive the Kingdom like a child
Allow yourself to be interrupted this morning by this story
Allow yourself to re-learn what it means to receive from God
Let us stop adulting in our faith!
Let us stop complicating our faith!
Let us stop overthinking our faith!
Let us stop pretending in our faith practices!
Close your eyes for a moment and see Jesus saying: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these”
AMEN
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