Childlike Beauty

The final story I want to mention where we might not expect to find Jesus is told in Luke 18. It is the story of the little children who came to Jesus to sit on his lap and play with him. The disciples were askance at their impudence and with their familiarity with him and rebuked them, sending them away. The idea was, “Don’t you realize Jesus is too important to be spending his time with children? He’s a famous man. And he’s too busy to take time to play. Don’t waste his time.” They were clearing his calendar for the more important people he had to meet, and the more important conversations he had to have.

But Jesus surprised them. If there is one thing about children, it is their complete dependence on someone else. They simply cannot take care of themselves. Their entire existence is based on someone outside themselves. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it” (Luke 18:16–17 NIV).

Today, some would use children for suicide missions; others would use their exalted philosophical prowess or techniques to destroy the innocence and faith of children. Jesus pointed to the little ones as a reflection of his kingdom. He meant that it was only our total dependence on God and our trust in him for our salvation that secured us a place in heaven. Just as the children wanted to lean on Jesus, so do we need to lean on him for everything.

Look back for a moment: The Samaritan woman, an ethnic outcast; the woman with the alabaster ointment, the moral outcast; the children with their childlike trust, the intellectual outcasts. There are no breathing exercises necessary here. There is no highly developed philosophy of quantum or highbrow theorizing here. No priority is given to birth or ethnicity here. Of such is the kingdom of heaven… totally unexpected, totally unearned.

God meets us in the most unexpected places, just as we lose him in the least expected places. It was not the prodigal son who returned to the father who missed the gift of grace, it was the older brother who was confident in his own righteousness and believed he deserved to be celebrated who missed the feast. These are startling reminders that we are talking about a person and a relationship, not a place and an idea.

So, the next time you hold a little child in your arms, look into that sweet face and remind yourself, “Unless I become like this little one, trusting in the arms of God, I will never have the resources to live the life God intended.” To know such dependence upon him, you can call on him anywhere.

Why Jesus? He is the Lord who makes reality beautiful and helps us to find him, even in the darkest corners of the world; not because of what we know or who we are or what we have accomplished, but because of who he is. He is truly the “Hound of Heaven” who says, “Thou dravest love from thee that dravest me.”¹⁴

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