“And Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of God.’” Matthew 18:3
When I think of what makes a child a child, a lot of different and sometimes very contradictory things come to mind. For example, a child can be incredibly sweet and endearing, but they can also be very selfish and mean. They can show great love and give you undivided attention, but then they can turn around, totally ignore you and act as if you don’t matter at all. They can be playful and light-hearted and then, in the flash of a second, can turn and be moody and depressive.
So what was Jesus talking about when he said that to enter the kingdom of God, we must be like a child? Does he want us to be impetuous, unpredictable and lacking in self-control as children so often are? Or could it be simpler than that? Could it have less to do with our childlike personalities and more to do with his desire simply to be in a close, loving relationship with us, like a Father or a Mother? Maybe he wants to be for us like a good, good father who we recognize as our creator, our sustainer, our strength, our wisdom-giver… the one who loves us unconditionally? Does he simply want us to be dependent on him, like a little child is toward their good father or mother? I’m thinking this might be closer to the mark of what God is looking for.
Children generally love to play games, and an all-time favorite is Hide and Seek. It seems like sometimes God plays this game with us, his children. At times he seems to hide from us and other times he seeks us out. It seems we also try to hide from him at times and then at other times we seek him out.
Even as adults we are invited in the same way to look for God and to find him in sometimes the most unusual circumstances of our lives. Here are three examples, two that happened to two friends of mine and one that just recently happened to me.
Our friend, Betsy, lost her teenage son to a motorcycle accident. Wracked with grief, she held fast to the Lord but struggled with depression and a sense of hopelessness. After her son’s funeral she took home the flowers that had been displayed at the Memorial Service. One was a kind of lily that usually only blooms in the Spring. But exactly on her son’ birthday in the Fall, the lily bloomed with one large, beautiful flower. And then, after that flower had faded away, the plant did not blossom again until exactly Easter morning and this time it had three beautiful flowers. Both of these bloomings held great symbolic meaning for Betsy, who received them as a message from God that she was loved, her grief was seen and that her son was safe now and with his Heavenly Father.
I have another friend who lost his wife about three years ago. In deep grief, he went about his days doing what he needed to do with work and with others in his family, but he missed his wife terribly. One day while walking downtown with his head lowered, he noticed a dime on the sidewalk. Without thinking much about it, he leaned down and picked it up. The next day he was walking again in another part of town and, looking down, saw another dime on the sidewalk! This was interesting. It was not a penny, a nickel or a quarter, but a dime. The next day the same thing happened…and this continued to happen daily for weeks. When he was telling me about this, he was absolutely convinced that these daily dimes were secret little messages from God, saying, “I see you. I love you. You’re going to be ok. Your wife is here with me and doing well” and expressing other sentiments like this. This was a grown, middle-aged, intelligent man with a successful business who was convinced that God was spreading dimes out for him to find across the city! To me this sounds like a childlike faith in a game of “God’s Hide and Seek”.
My story is a little bit similar. This last Thanksgiving, I realized I was heading down into a funk that happens often during the winter holidays. I know it was in large part due to missing my wife, but it had also been a seasonal occurrence for many years, even before I was married. I had a wonderful holiday with my kids and grandkids, but this funk was simmering in the depths of my soul. One day when I was feeling especially discouraged, I glanced at the clock and it read 1:11. I thought nothing of it. Later that day I glanced at the clock and it read 5:55.
The next day I looked up to find 3:33. Sometime the next day I saw 4:44. I went to bed early and woke up to see 11:11. The next day I thought I’d check my email and the phone opened to show me it was 2:22. This went on till after the New Year and it actually is still happening from time to time now.
I absolutely know how crazy this might seem to people, especially non-believers, but I was convinced after the third or fourth occurrence that God was shooting me a quick little reminder that he was with me, that things would get better and be ok, that my wife was with him and doing well. So every time I see the clock show a time like that, I just smile and say “Thank you, Lord!”
Just like a little child.
About the Author
John lives in Pleasant Hill with his dog, Gunnar, and a multitude of guests who enjoy the peace and beauty of the Cascade foothills. With three children and three grandchildren all living in Oregon, he is continually blessed with their company and the good food that always accompanies their get-togethers!
