Have you ever thought about this question: Why did God create children? Out of all the ways God could have chosen to populate the earth with humans, why did he design the world so that the human race multiplies by having babies who take years to become adults? Why didn’t God design us like earthworms, where one adult splits, and becomes another adult?
I believe this question has an important answer. I believe the answer tells us why children mean the world to God, and I believe the answer tells us why children must mean the world to us as a church. I do not propose to have the mind of God, but I honestly believe that God created children so that we would know what it takes to enter His Kingdom. In Mark 10:15 (NIV) the Bible says, “15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
So what is it about children? It can’t be their integrity because we know from experience that children can lie. It can’t be their humility or their obedience. Children can be demanding, short tempered, stubborn and selfish. But children have something that adults must learn to enter the Kingdom; dependence. Children are totally dependent on their parents for food, clothing, shelter, pretty much everything.
And that’s how we must come to Jesus, helpless, unable to save ourselves, totally dependent upon His mercy and His grace. We have nothing with which to bargain with God, not our goodness, not our talents, not our intellect. If we are going to be part of the Kingdom, it’s going to be because we surrender to Him, and we depend on Him. On whom are you depending?
-Mike Johnson
Don’t forget to ‘Take 5’