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Growing Younger
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Tuesday, July, 20, 2010
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by John Fischer
I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now – Bob Dylan
We often think of spiritual growth as getting spiritually bigger and stronger. That would make sense since it’s the meaning of the word. We even have a term we use for those who have walked with God a long time: we call them “spiritual giants.” Yet I’m not sure they, or God, would support the metaphor.
On a couple of occasions when the disciples of Jesus volunteered to shoo the children away, Jesus rebuked them and made a point of His preference for children, going as far as to say that the rest of us need to become like them if we have any desire of finding a heaven in our future.
I wonder what part of being like children he meant. Obviously he didn’t mean we were to be like children in everything, because children are naïve and foolish sometimes. Children are immature and God is pointing us all to maturity in Christ. But in some things spiritual, children have the upper hand.
The most obvious is their simple and total faith and trust in their parents, which becomes an example for us of how to trust our heavenly Father. Secondly, and not quite as obvious, is the wonder of a child. A small child is on a road of discovery and every new thing is full of delight. It does not take much to please young children because their imaginations are so active and their experiences are so new and fresh. Parents love this season. A two-dollar car will completely satisfy the desire of a four-year-old, but an eight-year-old is not going to be happy with anything less than a thirty-nine-dollar remote control Hummer.
Something else I’m observing with Chandler is the ease by which he makes friends. We often go a local park and I watch him immediately jump in with whoever is there — no introductions necessary.
For children this age at the park, there are always parents around, and I notice painfully how careful and suspicious we are of each other as we play out this little charade to determine whether or not we will introduce ourselves and bother getting into conversation. Our children have no problem with what is a difficult barrier for us, and the contrast makes our isolation even more apparent.
We were created for friendships. Our mission as representatives of the Kingdom of God on earth depends on it. We should borrow a chapter out of our children's book and just start playing together with strangers in the nearest sandbox.
Some guy walked up to me yesterday and acted like we were already in a conversation, and it was no time before we were. And he was just being friendly. Take it from the kids. We can do this.
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