A Child's Excitement

Today, I got up reluctantly from my bed, slowly got ready, not wanting to do anything but go back to bed.  All my thoughts on my now lonley bed, I arise and get the kids ready and off to church we go.  We make a stop at the bank so that we can draw money from a deplinishing account and give it as offering.  All of this, I am doing reluctantly, or more accuratly, I'm just following the motions, not dreading anything, but there's no joy, no excitement in any of it.  The happiness of worshipping my God with others just wasn't in my heart this morning.

However, everything changed the moment we turn in to the church parking lot.  Our 3 year old son jumps in his seat, swings his arms, kicks his legs and loudly proclaims, "We're here, we're here, looks it's Church!"  The joy that had been evading me was in my son, loudly coming out, proclaiming, "We are here" as if there was nowhere else we needed to be, as if this morning he woke up only to make it to this one destanation, as if his whole being depended on it.

How is it that my child knew the joy that I missed?  How is it that the excitement of God failed me, but found my son?  The answer is found in Luke 18:16-17
     But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.     "Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."

Jesus Himself says that we are to receive the kingdom of God as a little child.  To receive the kingdom of God as a child is sometimes easy to say, but so very hard to do.  A child has the ability to see the simplicity of God's love, to see the wonderous joys of being in the house of the Lord, to reach out and grab what is freely given.  They are able to do this, for the world has not yet corrupted their ways of thinking, has not filled in gaps of their own creating with manly actions.  They can find joy in waking up and going to church, for they see it as if it's the only destination, not one in a many of choices that us grownups have made Sunday into.

How wonderful to see the joy of a child, who has found this Joy in learning about their God.  How wonderful to wake up and know God is God and that's enough.  There's no, 'but God, I need this or that, where is my answer to this prayer or that prayer.'  There's only one thought and that is the thought that things are the way they are cause God said so.  God in enough to them, for they can believe without the darkness of sin blocking out the light.  That is what it means to come to God as a child, to see what is beyond your comprehension, but to believe it  all the same because God said so.