Stop acting your age
{Intro from Pete: It is my pleasure to introduce a new guest contributor, one of my five star friends Allyssa, who I have worked with at Beaver Cross and who last summer was one of my running partners – even though she couldn’t handle my pace… It is particularly neat for me to have her write for All4God as I know over the past few years she has been a big fan of All4God and has been a great source of encouragement for me with regards my writing so it is cool to now be able to share some of her great thoughts with you all.}
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Ever since I was a little kid my favorite passage in the bible has been Mark 10:13-16 NIV(Luke 18:15-17 and Matthew 19:13-15). It is a small passage, only three to four verses, but what it lacks in length it more than makes up for in meaning.
“People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When 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. Truly I tell you, 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, placed his hands on them and blessed them.” (Mark 10:13-16 NIV)
Usually we are told “grow up and start acting your age”, and here Jesus is telling us to stop acting our age and to be like children, or we won’t get into heaven! Now that doesn’t make much sense. Doesn’t God want mature and responsible adults in heaven? The answer is no, he doesn’t.
In a world dominated by the worldview of the Pharisees this was quite a bold statement for Jesus to speak. Then again a lot of statements made by Jesus were like this, but that’s beside the point. The Pharisees believed that people got into the Kingdom through a high level of spirituality and righteousness. Jesus telling them that little kids were going to heaven contradicted everything they believed. Obviously the Pharisees had it all wrong.
Children have this wonderful simplicity of faith that makes them trust everything. When their mommy and daddy leave them with a babysitter, they believe that they will come back without question. When they go to bed on Christmas Eve they know that there will be presents underneath the tree when they wake up. God doesn’t want us to rationalize everything and have proof for everything. He doesn’t want the negativity of an adult mind. All he wants from us is faith, the unquestioning faith of a child.
They are also completely dependent on others to live. Children depend on their parents for shelter, food, and most importantly love. Without these things children can’t survive. Children are weak and powerless and they need the protection of their parents. When kids hurt themselves they run to their parents for a bandage and a kiss to make it better. This is how God wants us to approach Him. He wants us to give our lives to Him, and let Him and only Him provide for us and fulfill our hearts.
Jesus preached about the Kingdom of God quite often. In his words we learn that it is not the high achievers and spiritually sound that receive the Kingdom. We learn that it is those who are the lowest and realize their sinfulness. It doesn’t get any lower than a baby. Babies do not have the ability to have a high moral standard or great spirituality. There is literally nothing they can do to achieve salvation, and yet Jesus is saying they have it. That’s amazing and a very real testament of God’s unending grace. Jesus wants us to put ourselves at the lowest of society so that nothing can satisfy us than He who made our hearts. As he said “the last shall be first and the first shall be last” (Matthew 20:16 NIV).
Get rid of your independence. Let go and allow God to take care of you. Depend on Him. Let Him kiss your scrapes and bruises. Believe in his promises and anxiously await them. Let Him take you in his lap and whisper “I love you” into your ear. Grow up and stop acting your age.
