When people brought children to Jesus as He was teaching. The well-meaning disciples saw it fitting to rebuke the people and send the children away. Jesus instead rebuked the disciples saying in Mark 10:14-15 “Allow the children to come to Me; do not forbid them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all”. I’m sure these words must have hit the disciples hard! Not only did they have to make room for the children, but they were told they needed to receive the kingdom like the kids they were trying to shoe away!

What does it mean to receive the kingdom of God like a child? Why does Jesus say we have to receive the kingdom of God like a child to be able to enter it? Is it that children are smarter than adults? Is it that children are stronger than adults? No, rather children are in a position of relying on others more capable to fulfill their needs.

I’ve been reflecting on how in our modern society we place such a high value on understanding things. There are many television shows and YouTube videos that show how things are made, how things work, and why things function the way they do. This is not just shows about industrial processes, but also about baking, cooking, renovating homes, planting gardens, fixing cars etc. While it is so interesting to see ‘behind the scenes’ we often give up our sense of awe and wonder to gain understanding.

As a kid I was amazed by fireworks! I didn’t understand that certain combinations of carefully packed chemicals could cause a specific display of colour and light, rather I was amazed at the beauty before my eyes! I’ve since seen some of the shows that illustrate how fireworks are made, and how specific chemicals are combined to give specific colours. I’ve also learned how expensive fireworks are! I still enjoy the beauty of a fireworks display, but I can’t say I have the same awe as I did when I was a child at seeing pretty colours dancing in the sky followed by a thundering boom!

Perhaps that is part of what it means to receive the kingdom of God as a child, perhaps we are called to embrace the mystery of the Gospel even though we cannot fully understand it! Instead of being frustrated adults because we cannot fully understand God, we need to rejoice in awe and wonder at the foot of the Cross!

Let us be constantly amazed by how big our God is!

Let us enjoy the beauty of creation on mountain tops and by the water!

Let us see the beauty in the way God created us to love one another!

Let us gaze towards the stars in awe of the magnitude of God’s creation!

Let us consider love so amazing that Christ died for us!

Let us rest in the mystery that God is beyond what we could ever understand!

Let us know that God is good!

Our understanding of these things will never be enough to fully explain them. And that in itself is something we are to be in awe of!

To often we approach faith trying to understand everything, but that is perhaps the opposite of what faith is.  As Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen”. It’s not about understanding every aspect of God and His goodness, rather it is having the faith of a child who doesn’t know where their food comes from, but knows that their parents will make sure they are fed.

“For by grace you have been saved through Faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” Ephesians 2:8. It is not our understanding of God that lets us approach him, but a childlike faith that He is Good and that he made a way!