Receiving the Kingdom Like a Child
In Luke 18, Jesus says, “anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” “…For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Many of us have heard this before. But have you ever really thought about what Jesus means here? We can’t get this wrong, or we risk not entering the kingdom of God, and that is what all of us were made for. So the eternally important question for us is… how do we receive something like a child?
My kids are really into BeyBlades right now. If you aren’t familiar with these things, they are spinning tops that battle each other to see who can knock the other down in a little plastic stadium. We told my three boys if they finished strong in school this year, we’d get them a gift. And the chosen gift was BeyBlades. When we arrived at the particular aisle in Target, the excitement began. The boys sprinted around the corner like they were training for the 100M relay. They jumped up and down, pointing and exclaiming quite loudly at which ones they were excited to get. They started chest bumping and singing the BeyBlade song, “let it rip!” They couldn’t care less about who else was in the aisle. When we got home with a few BeyBlades and a Beyblade Burst Surge Speedstorm Beystadium, they couldn’t wait to show Brook and I what they liked most about their new toys, to ask us for help in getting everything set up, and to let it rip to their hearts' content.
Now I think this illustrates just a few things for us about receiving something like a kid. A child receives:
Simply, not over-analyzing
Joyfully, without thinking of the correct response
Loudly, kids are not quiet and definitely not silent
With fun and laughter, not dull or dour
Humbly, asking for help and knowing they don’t have all the answers
Once they receive, kids can’t help but talk about it to anyone who will listen
And while there is more to be said, that is instructive to us. How well does that describe how we receive the kingdom of God, and how we share it with others? Much more than three boys receiving some plastic tops for summer break, God has promised us that we will inherit the kingdom. So the exhortation this morning is to receive God’s grace and his promises for the kingdom to come like a child: humbly, simply, loudly, joyfully, and to share it with others. And this reminds us of our need to confess our sins, so pray with me.