A Kingdom of Kids
We have a bunch of kids. Sometimes it’s really cool and fun, other times it’s just this side of insanity.
Sunday I nearly lost it as I stood to close the service with more worship and glanced over and saw Faith walking around in her big brothers shoes and socks...but I also recognised it was a moment when God was making a point to us.
We allow the kids to participate in worship at many levels. They gather at the front and dance, and run and take things away from one another.
Are they worshipping?
How would we know?
Believe it or not kids figure pretty highly in the kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed.
I could quote the relevant passages, but instead you should look them up.
When I start down the path to Christmas and understanding the incarnation where God invades by His own version of “Operation Freedom” I am struck by the innuendo and position that children play in the drama.
First there is the whole baby Jesus thing.
If you haven’t thought about the fact that the Creator of the universe who spoke entire worlds into existence went thru a period where he could make no intelligible speech (think Faith and her incessant talking which apparently is words, just words no one knows), then you need to think about it.
It is preposterous to imagine that the God of all has so much faith in us that he trusted his development and birth to a “maiden” named Miriam (Mary) somewhere in the neighborhood of 13-15 years of age.
Let that sink in for a moment...imagine God turning to someone like Ariel,or Alex, or Emily...you know a teenage girl, and entrusting them with the care and welfare of the Savior of all mankind.
Then there’s the whole insanity of Caesar when he orders the death of all the baby males from the time he heard from the wise men.
A little studious digging will uncover the huge possibility that the shepherds watching their flocks by night were actually young boys relegated to the menial task as lowest on the totem pole in the priesthood.
<teaching break>
Migdal Eder was the place of Rachel's tomb, near Bethlehem, but it was also the place where they would keep the sheep for Passover. So these kids were temple shepherds who kept the thousands of sheep that had to be brought up to Jerusalem. Their job was to inspect the sheep to make sure they were perfect and appropriate for the sacrifice. So Migdal Eder happens to be next to the little village where Jesus is born. And the shepherds nearby come inspect the Lamb to see if it's worthy and then go out proclaiming.
<end teaching>
Anyway the point I’m trying to make is that God sees kids differently than we do.
He seems to have no problem letting them become part of His salvation program, and if we want to participate fully with what He’s doing, we need to allow the kids to step up and involve themselves as much as possible.
I am open to suggestions...but ultimately I would like to see our children so involved that the world has to once again stop and listen to the perfect praise coming from the mouths of babes.
Raising kids is something noone can really become an expert at. What one child experiences as just a part of life can be anothers tramatic experience that requires much healing. Kids are so flexible and adjustable. What impact we as adults have on these blessed drawings boards seems to be while they are young. Most of the impact happens at an early age. Yet we as adults try to shape or control the situations so as to create the largest impact on these children. Do we really know what will create the largest impact, what makes for a lifechanging experience. Seeing what God has used in the past and what didn't seem to work, I think we need to allow the Holy Spirit to flow in all our times, worship, service and at home. Trust God to use our good intentions and allow the children to be part. We never know how much God desires to use these kids. They are the animation of the Gospel. In fact they may be the best representation of Gods love.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. Allowing the kids to be a part is probably the best way of teaching them who God is. Hopefully, it builds on their
ReplyDelete"instinctive" knowledge of Him. For me, it is also a powerful testimony to us of God's love for us, when the children are front and center participating. Chloe was so "sick" for days, and on Sunday morning I turned to see her
front and center doing her little
dance before the Lord. She was showing us God's goodness and faithfulness. I think that we don't fully grasp the impact of letting them have the freedom that they have. It's hard when they seem to be unruly and disruptive, but I wonder if the enemy doesn't try to influence them much the same way he does us.
We often have to fight with everything in us to "be there" when it is time to worship, so, as part of my preparation on Sunday mornings I have started praying that the children would have a sense of peace on them when they come. From the older ones down to the youngest, God is honored when they participate. I also pray for patience for myself, it seems to cause me a lot of frustration if Heidi and Chloe are disrupting somebody's time of worship. Perhaps the Lord will give us some insight into finding a balance...
Isn't it written and a Little child will lead them? There are so many references to children in the Bible and how SO very important they are. Mark said that Mary was a child herself of what 14, 15? For her to show her faith and trust in God why not us?!
ReplyDeleteMaybe he is trying to lead us by showing us the Excitement a child has towards everything. Jesus said Let the children come. So maybe we should follow his teachings and let the children come.
As for Faith in her brother's shoes. Isn't that just like her to demonstrate how we want to walk in our BIG Brother's shoes. Boy wouldn't those be some BIG shoes to fill?!
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