By David Ryser
The look on my young daughter’s
face pierced my heart. She stood there
looking at the coin in her hand. Then
she looked up at me. The look on her
face was one of sadness and disappointment.
She was insulted!
I had not intended to insult
her. My intention had been to bless
her. What had gone wrong?
When our children were small, my
wife and I would give them age-appropriate chores to do. These consisted mainly of picking up their
toys and their clothes. As a reward for
doing their assigned tasks, we would pay them a small allowance each week. They were required to save half of their
allowance. The other half was theirs to
spend as they wished. As their money
would accumulate to a certain amount, we would go to the bank and the toy
store.
It seemed like a good plan for
teaching our children about responsibility, saving money, and the rewards of
work. And the plan worked…most of the
time.
On this particular day, our
daughter had done some extra work on her own that was in addition to her
regular chores. And she was so
proud! She excitedly came to me wanting
to show me what she had done. As I
surveyed the results of her work, I wanted her to know how pleased I was.
So I decided to reward her.
I reached into my pants pocket,
fished out a quarter, and handed it to her.
As she took the coin, her face fell.
Her smile disappeared. She looked
as though I had just slapped her. I
thought she was going to cry.
And God spoke to me.
In Luke 18:15-17 (see also Mark
10:13-16), Jesus was busy teaching concerning the Kingdom of God. As He was teaching, people brought infants
and children to Him in order for Him to touch them. When His disciples objected, Jesus rebuked
them. He told them to allow the children
to come to Him.
Then Jesus said something
unexpected.
He said, “Assuredly, I say to you,
whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means
enter it” (Luke 18:17; Mark 10:15).
That’s Bible-talk for, “Listen up!
I’m not kidding! If you don’t
receive the kingdom
of God like a small
child, it will be impossible for you to enter it!”
Look it up for yourself. It’s right there…in plain Greek.
What does it mean to receive the Kingdom of God like a small child? As a parent--and now as a grandparent--I’ve
had ample opportunity to observe little children. One thing I’ve noticed about them is that
their motives are purer than the motives of adults.
When small children do something to
please you, they don’t do it for pay.
When my daughter showed me her
handiwork, all she wanted was my attention.
She wanted me to be excited about what she had done. She wanted me to praise her. She wanted me to express my approval of her.
She didn’t want a stupid quarter.
I realized my mistake immediately,
but it was too late. I showered my
praise and approval on her. But the
moment was lost. I had ruined it.
I would give anything to have that
moment back.
Small children don’t want your
stuff nearly as much as they want you.
They want your time. They want
your attention. They want just to be
with you. The greatest gift you can give
to a small child is the gift of yourself.
So how does this correspond to our
relationship with God?
Too many times we serve God for the
wrong reasons. We pray only when we want
something. We give because we’ve been
told that God will give back to us a hundred-fold. We live the Christian life because we want to
go to heaven when we die.
And then we wonder….
We wonder why God seems to be so
far away. Why we so rarely experience
His presence. Why we are never intimate
with Him. Why we feel so empty when we
have everything we need in abundance.
Perhaps we should examine our
motives.
Do we love God, or do we love the
things He gives to us? Do we serve God
just to get His blessings? Is hearing
His approving “Well done!” our greatest joy in life? Are our motives for loving and serving God as
pure as those of a small child?
They had better be.
If we do not receive the Kingdom of God as a small child, we will not enter
it. We will not know the fullness of
Kingdom living. We won’t experience the
delight of being in the presence of our heavenly Father and simply enjoying
Him. Can’t we forget about the things
God has given to us long enough just to be with Him?
So what do we want? Do we want God and His Kingdom? Or will we settle for a quarter?
Responses to this article are
welcomed. You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com
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