Little Children

 by Rod Tucker in Thoughts

Brennan Manning writes in his book, The Importance of Being Foolish:

“To become a little child again (as Jesus enjoined we must) is to recapture a sense of surprise, wonder, and vast delight in all of reality.  Look at a child’s face on Christmas morning as he enters the living room transformed by the midnight passage of Santa Claus.  Or when he discovers the coin under the pillow or sees his first rainbow or sniffs his first rose.”

He continues:

“Few of us catch our breath at these things as we once did.  The walk down the corridor of time has made us bigger and everything else smaller, less impressive.”[1]

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”[2]

There is an element of excitement and anticipation which adults lack and children possess.  Giddiness is considered immature in professional settings.  Acting as though life is Christmas morning seems strangely awkward and juvenile.  But unless we can somehow become like children, we are truly in danger of simply remaining in our own repetitive self-created kingdoms.

This is why Genesis 1 is so profound and exhilarating.  Water is separating from land.  Continents are rising up out of the ocean.  Trees are shooting from the earth like missiles preparing to launch.  There is an adrenaline-charged anticipation causing us to wonder what is next.

There is something about God’s Kingdom that leaves us so in awe of what is and has occurred that we simply cannot wait for the next surprise.

I get a similar feeling when I watch certain documentaries, the ones that take me to the bottom of the ocean to see new creatures.  Witnessing things that I didn’t know existed before that moment always astounds me and leaves me wanting more.

What I do fail to recognize most of the time is the air and the sky and the clouds that are new every day.  I know that God created them in the beginning of time, but for some reason my giddiness is many times absent when I look up and out.

I wonder what might happen if I had a greater anticipation for what is next.  To be intentional about the way I perceive all that is around me.  Everything that is around me, all created by God in an instant.  Maybe I might set myself up to receive a greater understanding as to what is truly happening around me.  To be intentional with the knowledge of God’s Kingdom invading this place.

Rod TuckerLittle Children