“Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child
will never enter it.”
Luke 18:17
Wednesdays are my day.
This summer, Wednesdays are the day that I get to give Rev. Carol a break and tell the children at our Summer Explorers Camp stories from the Bible. Each day of our camp, our children get to hear about God’s love to them in Jesus Christ.
I have each of the groups for 30 minutes. They file in through the piano side door and occupy the first few pews of the sanctuary. Situated in front of the communion table, I always take a moment at the beginning to talk about why we gather in the sanctuary. I tell them how the room that they are in tells the story of God’s love. I remind them of the stories that our windows tell. I tell them about what we do in worship and how we strive to give God our full attention. I tell them about the songs that we sing, and the prayers that we pray, and the scripture that we explore. I don’t hold back. I tell them about the baptisms that we have witnessed, and the weddings that we have celebrated, and the funerals at which we have sought consolation. The children listen carefully. They ask excellent questions.
“Why do you preach from up there?”
“Why does an organ sound like that?”
“Where do they place the coffin?”
“Why do people kiss at weddings?”
“Why does the table have those words on it: ‘Do This in Remembrance of Me?”
“Why is your hair turning gray, Pastor Jeff?”
The kids don’t miss much. The older children light up when I ask for feedback on the Bible story. The youngest like it when I bring my puppet friend to help with our time together. Other children enjoy ‘call and response’ activities during the story.
Oh sure. Sometimes, they get a bit squirrelly. One child can’t stop playing with his neighbor’s shoe. Another seems fascinated by the shiny floors. Two small boys who look nothing like brothers have their arms around each other like they are family.
But overwhelmingly, they give the Bible stories their attention. And to tell you a secret, it repeatedly takes my breath away. Their eyes grow large as they hear the ancient stories of our faith. Their earnest expressions reveal that they are giving all of their heart and soul to the moment. The innocent, gentle engagement with which they attend to God’s Word is startling. I wish you could see it.
The children’s presence in Bible story time convinces me of three things:
1.) The work that we do with our children is of the utmost importance. We pass on the faith to future generations by telling them the Good News of God’s great love.
2.) Our children have a knack for being able to cut to the heart of the matter in their honest responses to God’s truth.
3.) God wishes for us all to have this child-like quality in our faith.
Jesus tells us, “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”
I’m convicted by Jesus’s words, and I wonder if I bring the same enthusiastic, pure, and utterly faithful attitude to worship and the studying of God’s Word. If not, how do I reclaim it? How do I become more child-like in my dependence upon God? How do I drop my jaded, cynical worldview in favor of a hermeneutic of trust?
I’m not sure, truly.
But for me, sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with our children is a good reminder of the kind of spirit that He wishes to renew within me.