One Year

That's my man, Bennett Shepherd Flanders, our third and youngest grandchild, the firstborn son of Miles and Kimberly. As of April 4, he's a year old and pushing hard to move into the Land of the Toddlers. It's such a blast watching a child grow up. One day, the little booger is just lying there, pretty much sleeping non-stop, and then suddenly he was grinning at us. Then, he was making sounds - grunts and snorts and what all - and next he was making gestures he'd learned. Now, he's saying MaMa and DaDa, and I'm pretty sure he'll be calling me "Hubba" shortly. OK, that might be a while, but I'll keep working at it. Though he's already taken a few steps, he's figured out that crawling is a quicker, more efficient mode of transportation. Soon enough, however, he'll be in high gear and rolling out.

Reading books, running, hitting a baseball, playing with cars and trucks, singing - who knows what he'll do and love over the unfolding years. We'll see his personality develop; he'll make friends. Perhaps he'll spend time outdoors, hunting or fishing, or maybe he'll gravitate to golf or woodworking or painting. Who knows? That's the fun of it!

It's interesting when we consider this idea of being a child from a New Testament perspective. Jesus says one thing and Paul says something very different. Consider . . .

First, we know children had a special place in Jesus's heart. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell about some parents wanting their kids to have a little time with Jesus. His disciples knew that Jesus was a busy man, so they told the parents to skedaddle. All three of those Gospels tell that Jesus admonished the disciples to allow the children to come to Him "for to such belongs the kingdom of God."

Mark gives us greater insight by including this little tidbit - But when Jesus saw it (the disciples shooing the parents and kids away), he was indignant . . . (Mark 10:14, ESV). Indignant means somebody ain't happy, and I sure don't want to be the one with whom the Son of God is indignant. Probably not a great day to be a disciple!

So, Jesus likes kids. But, He goes even further. Matthew 18 tells of yet another time when the disciples got themselves into a discussion about who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I'm pretty sure that Jesus didn't answer as they expected Him to do. Matthew 18:2 says, "And calling to Him a child . . ." Don't miss this - there was a child close enough that Jesus could summon him. The kid wasn't shuttled off somewhere else but was right there near Jesus. What did Jesus do then?

We continue. "He put him in the midst of them and said." This child, an unnamed boy whose age we do not know, is the center of attention and is about to become a tangible lesson about Kingdom life. In verse three, Jesus says, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

OK, so that's Jesus on children. Now, let's look at Paul. In his first letter to the Corinthians, he expressed his displeasure with them by referring to them as "infants" (I Corinthians 3:1, ESV). He goes on in the next verse to tell them that he "fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not ready for it." He's calling them a bunch of babies, which means he's not bragging on them. In Galatians 4, Paul speaks of how children are under the authority of guardians and managers. In verse three, he compares that to their earlier life before Christ and says, "In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world." Once again, for Paul, being childlike is not a compliment.

Here's one more from Paul, again from his first letter to the Corinthians. The 13th chapter is the one which gives us that wonderful picture of love - Love is patent and kind; loves does not envy or boast . . . Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. In verse 11 of that great chapter, Paul offers this little insight, "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways."

Do you see the difference between the two? Jesus encourages us to "Act like a child" and Paul tells us to "Grow up!" They seem to me to be saying exactly the opposite thing. Which one is right?

Both of them.

Jesus is lifting up the humility of children that leads them to recognize their dependence on the adults around them. The younger a child is, the less self-sufficient she or he is. And they know it. Bennett has learned that he only gets fed by beseeching (sometimes loudly) his parents or others to provide him with food. Likewise, believers are to lean upon the power and strength of God and are to acknowledge our dependence upon Him.

I think there's another level to what Jesus is saying when He tells us to become like children. That is, children have an inherent trust in their parents and others in authority. Our grandson Alden will hop right in his car seat if his parents tell him they're driving to Alaska. Why? Because he'll be three in May and he has no concept of Alaska. And he trusts his Mama and Daddy. Now, his sister Hazel - older and wiser at age six - she'll ask a few questions, but then she'll also be game for the trip. Both of them trust that their parents have their best interests at heart, that their parents will watch out for them, and that their parents will be with them wherever they go.

That's childlike faith, and that's what Jesus is encouraging. Recognize who we are before God and then depend on Him and trust Him. Pretty simple.

But Paul says to put away "childish things." And that's exactly what we should do, all while retaining our respect for God, our dependence upon Him, and our trust in Him. After all, Jesus never said children were perfect. They do need to grow up. I love Bennett to death, but I won't be excited if ten years from now, he's still demanding to be fed the minute he gets a little hungry. Alden and Hazel, likewise, have to take those steps of learning to be patient, to take a turn, to share. Be honest - is there anything worse than an adult who acts like a child, throwing grown-up sized temper tantrums?

Ultimately, Jesus and Paul are not in disagreement with one another. We can be childlike in our faith and also grow in maturity. Those two things are not mutually exclusive. In fact, both are necessary for us to become the followers of Jesus that He intended us to be.