I was thinking today about something random. As I watched my daughter play with her toys I thought about how cool kids are. I think one of the things I'm most impressed with is a child's incredible ability to be excited and overjoyed as she discovers the simplest things. I mean, I look at a rattle and it's no big deal. Just a plastic gadget that makes annoying noises when you shake it or throw it. My daughter, on the other hand, is in awe of the rattle! She reaches for it as I would reach for a 100 dollar bill floating in the wind, her eyes widen as mine would if I saw Elvis Presley standing on my front porch in a polar bear suit, her mouth opens in a huge smile like mine would if the Georgia Bulldogs actually won the National Championship this year, and she coos and grunts as I would.....well.....if the Georgia Bulldogs actually won the National Championship this year. It's amazing!! She's like this with just about everything. And yet the things that excite her and bring her imagination to life are the same things I take for granted. Our dog Molly, a blue sky, her sippy cup, a cheerio, a stroller ride around a noisy park filled with screaming 7 year olds, a cruise across town in the car, and even the waiter at our favorite Mexican Restaurant all cause a joy and wonder to light up her face.
I wonder when I lost this. I was a child once too. All of us were children once. And yet at some point in our lives the wonder we once experienced from the simplest things was replaced with an attitude of "been there-done that". It's sad really. It makes me look at my child and wonder who really has the wisdom. I want the wonder back.
There is a story that Jesus' disciple Matthew told about an experience he had with Jesus one time. See, some of the disciples asked Jesus who the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven was. It's not surprising really. We as adults are always concerned with adult things like status and importance. Jesus responded as only God would have the wisdom to respond. He called a small child over to him and had the child stand in front of the disciples. As these guys watched probably wondering "Um....bro, did you hear what we asked?" Jesus makes this statement; "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:2-4)
I think today as I watched my daughter joyfully discover the simplest things I finally began to understand what Jesus meant. He wants us to be like children. To stand in wonder and in awe of the simplest things because they are all created by God. And ultimately He wants us to stand in wonder of the mystical things we so often grow numb to and take for granted. The love of God, the patience of God, and the cross that Jesus bled and died on. Jesus wants me to stand in wonder of Him and all that He is and all that He's done and all that He's said and all that He can and will do. I become like a child when I humble myself and stand in awe of his love. When I reach for Him with wide eyes and a huge smile. Like a baby reaches for a new rattle.
1 comment:
It is amazing what we can learn by observing our children. You talk about a child's wonder, but I have always been amazed about how hard they think. Wait til your little one begins to talk and you will see what I mean: just to put two words together is an arduous mental workout! You can almost see the gears turning in their little heads. You wonder when we stopped having a sense of wonder, I ponder when we stopped thinking. It is clear that sometime between toddlerhood and jr. high most lose the desire to work/think that they once had. Do they think that they already know it all?
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