“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” -Matthew 18:3-5
Jesus Calls us to have faith like a child. I know we hear this talked about a lot, but I think the reason we have to hear it so much is because we still don’t get it.
I found myself in to be in violation of such humbleness on many occasions. I was standing in church at Aldersgate UMC in Abilene TX during my Sophomore year at McMurry University. Rev. Patterson had just finished the prayers of the church, the pastoral prayer, and the Lord’s prayer. All of a sudden I see an old woman, who had been known to do/say some pretty odd things, scooting down the isle in her walker right up to the front. In this moment I mistakenly thought of her having a mental handicap and ignoring my spiritual handicap.
Likewise, a similar situation happened while I was at church in High school at FUMC Mansfield. One day during the hymns at the 11AM traditional service, a young man stands up (while everyone else was sitting) and begins banging away on his tambourine. So many people looked on him with judgment, including myself, that he was asked not to bring the tambourines back to church. So the next week he showed up with Maracas. Did we as a church not remember Psalm 150 verse 5 and 6 where it says “Praise him with loud cymbals, praise him with loud crashing cymbals”? Did I on that Sunday in Abilene that we must have childlike faith? The woman in that moment realized she had a friend who needed prayer that hadn’t been mentioned. She wanted prayer for her friend! She wasn’t concerned about what others were going to think or who is going to look at her funny. All that mattered to her that morning was her God and her friend in need. All the young man at First Mansfield was concerned about was worshiping the God he had recently come to know and love, to express the joy in his heart the way he knew how. He was not concerned about the thoughts and opinions of we who scoffed at him. He was concerned about Joyfully praising the Lord.
There is a story that goes like this: One day a man and his little child were standing in front of a well at six-flags. The man says to the little boy, “this is a wishing well, what you do is you take a penny, close your eyes, make a wish. Then you throw the penny in the well.” So the man gave his little boy a penny to make a wish and watches as the child squeezes the penny real tight and closes his eyes. The boy rears back and throws the penny into the well. So the father asks him, “what did you wish for?” and his child replies, “to throw the penny in the well!!”
it takes a child like mentality to be so in the moment that you are literally wishing for what you are about to do. It is when we are living in the now, that we are able to stand up and praise God because we feel it, and to not worry about all the things that burden us for next week, and forget what brought us down last week or last year. My friends, enjoy where you are NOW, and you will be able to enjoy God.
See children are not happy because their world is perfect. Children are happy because they concentrate on what is happening at that very moment.
Go ahead, Throw the penny in the well.
Jacob Fields
