RECEIVE GOD LIKE A CHILD by Cheri Holdridge (with an assist by Kurt Young)

    My dad was a United Methodist pastor for a good part of his life. One of his passions was Christian Education. You may not know this about my mother, but her undergraduate degree is actually in Christian Education. When my sisters and I were young my parents were both active in this United Methodist program called Lab Schools where they train Sunday School teachers to be better teachers. Usually they would go to a church or maybe a church camp for a week in the summer and expert teachers like my parents would teach others teachers how to be creative teachers. It was called a Laboratory School because they would use local kids, or the kids of the teachers, like us, as “lab rats.”   My sisters and I got to be the lab rats, which was pretty fun.

    My mom was certified to train teachers of 5th and 6th graders. Lots of the trainers were stay at home moms like her. But my dad, was one of the few pastors, who stood 6’ 2” was trained to teach the teachers of 3 and 4 year olds. He was one of the only certified lab teachers in the whole country for that age group who was a man. We often got to travel across the country to help teach others how to do this.

    My Dad loved the wonder of little children. I can still remember his smile at showing me a real glass prism on the nature table. At one camp location, Camp Junaluska there was a white picket fence outside the kids’ room and he let them paint with real painter’s paint brushes and water. And here’s the thing: when you do fun stuff like that with kids, and then you tell them stories about Jesus and how much Jesus loves them. Guess what? They listen!

     It’s not that complicated when you are 3 or 4. You go to Sunday School, and a kind teacher let’s you do fun stuff, and tells you a story about Jesus, and tells you that God loves you. You experience kindness, and you get to be creative, and you learn that God is kind and creative and made you creative and kind, and that message can stick with you for the rest of your life!

    Well, I know it gets a little more complicated when we get older. Life throws us some curve balls.  Sadly God even throws some curveballs to three and four year olds.  You come to me and you say: “How can I trust God?” “I don’t feel God’s presence.” “There are some things in the Bible that just I just don’t understand.”

    Jesus had some advice for us when we feel like this. He says this just go and “Hang out with some children. BE LIKE children. THEY are the ones, in their simple joy, who get it.”

    Jesus said: “These children are at the center of life in the kingdom.” He said “kingdom” but we are going to use the word kindom today. Kingdom implies that God is a king and we are his subjects. It’s a very hierarchical understanding of the world that was present when the Bible was written and describes a vertical relationship. Kin-dom is a new word Christians are using that refers to a more horizontal relationship between “kin.” We are all “kin” as part of the family of God.

    So back to what Jesus said. “Children are at the center of the kindom.” Isn’t that funny?  We are supposed to put them at the CENTER of this life we have together.

    Now, I can tell you there is not a church around that does not want have children in their church. Everyone knows that children are one of the signs of a church that is alive. They keep us alive. Many of you have happy memories of being in a church family. What are some of those memories? Travis told us a story of music in church.  Tanner remembered playing in Sunday School.  Betty told us of Aunty Jenny using an old (8 decades ago) slide projector.  Jinny told us of her confirmation class being the first where afterward the girls got to light the candles up front.     For many the thought of being in the Christmas play was one of the best experiences.  Or was it running around the building after church and exploring the hiding places in the building For many, there were people who cared about you; I remember Mr. Whitaker who gave me a nutcracker as a present; and who would buy girl scout cookies from me. I remember when I was about to move, my SS class gave me a little surprise going away party.

I remember getting a Bible when I was in the 3rd grade; we are making plans to give bible to our kids here in a few weeks.

    Jesus said, “Don’t push these children away. Don’t ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kindom.” The presence of God on Earth was centered on these kids.

    Well Jesus did not have a degree in child development. But he knew that who we are going to be as adults gets formed when we are children. And so children need to be close to God. We need to expose them to the ways of Jesus. We need to encourage them to be passionate, compassionate and forgiving. We need to help them practice doing justice and being people who serve. We need to help them experience what it means to seek not to be first, but to put themselves last. Remember this? The last shall be first and the first shall be last. Children can learn to be generous. When we start practicing the ways of Jesus as children, then we will walk in these ways as adults. It comes naturally.

    So, first, Jesus said they need to be at the CENTER of the life of the kindom. But then he said something really interesting to the adults. He said, “Unless you accept God’s kindom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” Unless you accept the kindom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.

    We adults need to be like children!  That is really fascinating. You see, it would be our inclination to think that as adults, we need to be mature. We need to study. We need to have deeper understandings of the more complex issues of life. We need to ask the hard questions and work to grow into a mature faith.

    But Jesus says, “Nope! You need to accept God’s kindom with the simplicity of a child. Otherwise, you are lost.”  All hope is lost.  Why would Jesus say this?

    First of all, let me say that I don’t think it’s because he does not want us to study and ask questions. I believe he does want us to grow in our faith.  I believe his point is this: in the end, joyful faith is simple. And we must never forget that. And if it begins to get too complicated, we need to remember what life was like when we were children.

    You see, when I give my young child a big hug and tell him God loves you and I love you too, it is not complicated and he believes me. That is all there is to it. There are no questions. There is no uncertainty.  That’s the kind of assurance God wants us to feel.  There is just gratitude and comfort. Love is a gift. There is certainty in that love. It is unconditional. (He does not question, like an adult, whether or not this love you will stay or go.)

    When a young child sees beauty in the world and she embraces that beauty; there is simply wonder and joy. A child looks at a big blue sky with puffy clouds. Or a child looks at huge trees with leaves that have bright orange, red, and yellow colors. She asks what makes them that color and you say God makes them that color to give us a gift. She smiles, gathers a bunch of them and makes a bouquet. (She does not complain, like an adult, that here comes another fall, and that means we have to rake those blasted leaves!).  She’ll figure out in science class what makes them change colors.

    When Jesus says, “Unless you accept God’s kindom with the simplicity of a child” I think he was also imploring us, to live life a little like children – to relax – to live with wonder – and joy.  God’s kindom is here on earth. We make that kindom here on earth when we choose to live as God’s people more consciously in our daily lives.   I wonder, Do you allow yourself to stop, and wonder, like a child?

    As adults, who are always on a time clock, it is hard for us to stop and pay attention to beauty in our world. Children can help us do this, because they have no need of clocks. When you are with a child, and they want to stop and look at something interesting or beautiful, can you let their sense of wonder be your invitation to STOP! Remember this scripture to “accept God’s kindom with the simplicity of a child” and STOP to see something beautiful or interesting.

    You know how children are, don’t you. They will call you to come outside because they are building something out of leaves, sticks and mud. We’ll say we are too busy, and we think it is the craziest thing ever. We certainly had more important things to do with my time. Like post on facebook, or fold socks, or watch the home shopping network. Maybe we are working at home and we really need to work. (Big sigh.) Sometimes we say we just do not have time to go see their creations, but sometimes, we give in to the fun, and just watch their joy at whatever thing they have created. When I follow my child outside for a few minutes, I realize how thankful I am that they can’t watch TV all the time and you can’t even do homework all the time.

    It is still in their DNA to go outside and wonder at the beauty of God’s creation. And even though our children have become victims of our overly technological world it is still in their nature to love to go outside now and then and love God’s creation. And they will coax us out there if we will let them. Sometimes, when just need to receive God, and God’s creation as a little child.

    Another gift that children give us is the ability to laugh. When we went on our Confirmation Retreat to Cleveland this summer, those kids learned much about the United Methodist and United Church of Christ and they worked really hard. They sat and listened intently to quite a few people talk about various ministries of our churches. Then at night we went out to dinner and they laughed about the stupidest stuff ever. They reminded me of why young people are so important: because they can laugh about anything.  They can also demolish one desert in about thirty seconds.

    I was just at a music workshop yesterday with my friend Mark Miller who is a nationally respected church musician. He just happened to come to the Toledo area and Travis, Kristen and I went to his workshop. He said something that I believe. He said we have to be able to laugh and have some fun as a part of worship. “Playfulness is important when you are preparing the music for worship.” He loves to play a song and then work in the tune of another song in at the end just to get a laugh. He did it all the time on Saturday. He worked in Adele, or a song from Glee, and all kinds of show tunes to the hymns and other religious songs we were doing. It gave us a laugh. Why? Because playfulness is part of our human experience. It lightens our hearts. God appreciate laughter because God appreciates laughter like children.

    Nobody knows more about play than children. Their work is play. They play all the time. Jesus said, “Don’t separate me from the children because they are at the center of the kindom of God.” It only follows then, that a sense of playfulness would also be at the center of God’s kindom.

    My friend Paul is an expert in church development and planting .  He says the best churches have a sense of laughter and playfulness.  I’m glad we have that at the Village.

    So, what about you? What can a child show you about how you can grow closer to God? Is there something simple that you are missing? Is there some simple act of faith, or truth, that a child would accept, but has you perplexed?

    My friends, sometimes we just make this all too complicated. Once a young student of the great theologian Karl Barth, who I had to read in seminary, asked if he could sum up what was most important about his life’s work and theology in just a few words. Barth just thought for a moment and then smiled, “Yes, in the words of a song my mother used to sing me, ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’”

    The great Karl Barth got the message. Jesus loves us. Don’t let it get complicated. Remember that God loves you, and you will always live in God’s kindom. Amen.