Childlike Faith - Part 3

DAILY BYTE

So if Jesus was not talking about childish faith, nor about suspending adult questions and struggles, then what exactly was he saying? What does it mean to “receive the kingdom of God like a little child”?

Tony Campolo tells the story of once being challenged by a Buddhist monk: “You Christians teach your children to pray all wrong. You teach them to pray, ‘if I should die before I wake.’ It would be better if you taught them to pray, ‘if I should wake before I die.’”

His point was how often people seemed to live life only half awake, and not fully aware of the wealth of God-filled possibilities surrounding us everyday. With his point in mind, Campolo goes on to say how he once similarly challenged a student of his with the words, “How long have you lived?”

The student responded: “23 years.”

Campolo replied, “No that’s how long your heart has pumped. How long have you lived?” He then went on to explain to the student exactly what he was talking about.

The student’s reply was very interesting: “When you say it that way, maybe an hour, maybe less than that. Maybe a minute, maybe two. Most of my life seems to have been the meaningless passage of time between all too few moments when I was genuinely alive.”

Wake me up before I die! My young daughter teaches me this lesson every day. Hers is a sense of wonder at life. Her eyes open wide as if trying not to miss a single moment, her hands eagerly reach out to grasp what seems to me to be very ordinary things. Childlike faith is about having our eyes open to the miracle of everyday life again. It is about learning to see how the divine can shimmer and dance even in quite ordinary things.

The movie, “Finding Neverland,” tells the story of how James Barrie, (played by Johnny Depp) wrote the play, “Peter Pan.” At the premiere of this play, Barrie knew that there was a very real danger adults would just not ‘get’ the magic of the story. So he arranged for 25 children from a local orphanage to be present, seated randomly around the theatre. The children arrived late, and as they took their seats, disapproving patrons raised their eyebrows. When the curtains rose, the children let out squeals of delight and laughter. Tuxedoed adults, not yet quite grasping the wonder of the play, looked askance at these ragamuffin children who had caught on immediately. And then the adults began to look again, more carefully this time at what was happening onstage. Slowly their eyes started to brighten, and they began joining in the chuckles. Infected by the children, the adult patrons soon got caught up in the wonder of the play.

They were awakened to wonder and majesty. They were made alive to beauty in everyday, ordinary things. This is what children will teach us, if we take the time to listen. God is wondrously beautiful, and his presence and miracles surround us everyday. If only we would awake before we die, if only we would learn to see this, if only we would receive that truth like a little child.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Open our eyes wondrous God, to the incredible beauty that surrounds us everyday. Help us to be like little children, and become fascinated by the mystery of even very ordinary things. Let our souls, hearts and minds be continually awake to the treasures of your presence. Amen.

FOCUS READING

Mark 10. 15-16 (NIV)
I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.