Childlikeness

Today, I started the sermon series on the Seasons of Life. The purpose of the 7-part series is to rediscover the transitions of life through childhood, through adolescence, young adulthood, marriage, parenting, mid-life, and finally the golden years. Guiding our meditations will be selected portions from the book of Proverbs. My topic today was childlikeness.

Childlikeness is a Christian trait. We are all called to be children of God.

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God." (John 1:12-13)

Yesterday, my wife and I invited a few friends over to our house for a BBQ. The adults mingle while the kids play. After running up and down the house, they decided to go outdoors with their water balloons. You know, kids loved water. Before long, they were making friends with kids in the neighbourhood. One of my neighbours kindly opened up his collection of water guns, and gleefully filled up the guns every time the water runs out. The kids were in heaven. I looked at the faces of each kid and was stunned at how intentional they were in trying to create the biggest spray on anyone in front of them. Every child had a water gun. Every child got to fill up when the need arose. Every child had fun. Great fun!

There is so much to learn from the children at play. I marvel at the lives of adults. Many of us live lives of little children. David Henry Thoreau's classic words about we adults, that, "the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation, and go to the grave with the song still in them." In our modern society, isn't it true that the older we get, the more reserved we become? Is growing up a matter of keeping our cool, and staying prim and proper? I look at the children at play. They have one main aim. Be single-minded. Be focused. Have fun! 


Admit it. Adult lives are plain boring, when compared to the kids. This may be due to the heightened expectations of adults, or the lack of trust of people. Somehow, growing up has made people boring. Look at the kids. They have no worry. They have no fear of the future. They just be themselves. They are so intentional on having fun.


What does it mean to be a child of God? It simply means we can have fun doing all the good works, learning to trust God in spite of what happens to us. Learn not to see children as irritants who mess up our peace or our schedules. See them, and notice how God loves them. Perhaps, the problem with us 'boring' adults is simply because we have failed to notice the ordinary present enough. As a result, we become less present to the 'now,' always holding out for the 'tomorrow,' and missing out the opportunity to live well.


conrade