Such As These

Adult like faith....what does it look like?  Ugliness, hatefulness, envy, jealousy, judgemental....just to name a few.  Now you may be thinking whoa...where are you coming from so just sit tight for a second and read the rest of the story.

Have you been around a child lately?  I sat in a daycare room at our church for a bit this afternoon and observed a couple of them.  There is beauty...something almost sacred and divine surrounding children.  There is such a sense of purity and innocence when around them. 

And before children are "impressed upon" with our WORLDLY religious systems views, they love everyone.  To children, it doesn't matter how "bad" we have messed up, they love us anyway.  They do not judge because they know no system of judgement.  They have nothing to base "how bad we are" against.  They simply look at us, and they love us.

I think back to my own life and try to remember when I began judging people.  I guess it when I learned all the "Thou Shall Not's" in Sunday School and I "grew up" and begin pointing out others mistakes.  How often I pointed my bony finger at others and said, "But she sleeps around," or "He is an alcoholic," or "She gossips about everyone," or "They don't go to church".  For more years that I want to admit, I judged others on a "sin scale" while never dealing with or really even recognizing my own sin!

A couple years ago, I had an encounter with God that opened my eyes to a scripture that I had read numerous times throughout my life and THOUGHT I understood.  Let me share it with you:

But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to SUCH AS THESE" (emphasis mine)...Luke 18:16.

So who are these "such as these"?  Those are the innocent eyes of children.  The eyes that see the good in others instead of looking for the bad.  The mouths of children that build up others up instead of tearing them down.  The innocent heart that loves no matter what has happened or what we've done.  The kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

So are you and I considered to be "such as these" with childlike faith or have we matured so much so that we have appointed our self judge so we may point out others faults?  Maybe it's time to revert back to our childhood faith and love unconditionally...because the greatest of all these (commandments) is love.

Something to ponder....

Until next time....