Jesus Project, Day 6

I think I'm addicted to Matthew.  I can't get out of Matthew.  Things could be worse!  Today's scripture is from Matthew 18:

"He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me."

I sometimes wish that the Bible would have been written with a little more description.  For some reason "he called a child to him and placed the child among them" seems a little vague.  What I think happened is that Jesus called a little one over to him, sat him on his lap and played with him.  I see Jesus playing with him or asking him questions and listening to the little one talk in the wild imaginative way that children do.

Have you played with or listened to a young child?  They really are so different from adults.  There's no filter.  There's infinite imagination.  Everything they do and consider are based in the present (unless it's Christmas or a birthday).  They don't care about things like money or prestige.  They completely lose themselves in their play. They are endlessly curious and inquisitive.

I have a feeling Jesus wasn't saying that we need to abandon responsibility and pretend to be children.  I think the message here is to recapture those traits that we are born with -- wonder at all of creation; trust and love for people; open ourselves to adventure and imagination; take joy in every possible little thing.

All of life is such a gift!  Unless we shed the pride, worries and walls that we've built up, how are we to see and enjoy what God has given?  Jesus points out that we must take the lowly position of a child in order to receive the greatest blessing in this life and the next.

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about."
- Angela Schwindt