It Slapped Me In The Face

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.

Luke 18:16

I now understand why sweet Jesus demanded the little, innocent children come to Him and why the Heaven would belong to "such as these." The masquerade and facade that seems to come with age among Christians does not exist to children. They are raw, honest, sometimes brutally honest, but upfront nonetheless. 

If only we could all have a touch more of this. 

What is the root of my tangent you ask.

A little girl named Sydney who is very dear to me. I nanny for Syd's family and last night I babysat both her and her sister Avery. As she was showing me a project she did for her 5th grade class, she pointed out a verse she picked for a portion of the project. Our conversation went a little like this:

Syd: "Wanna know why I picked this verse?"

(Revelation 3:16 ---- So because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth)

Me: "I don't know Syd, you tell me."

Syd: "because it slapped me in the face."

Me: "It what?"

Syd: "slapped me in the face. Ya know, I realized, I was lukewarm."

As I drove home that night, I could not stop replaying this conversation in my mind. In churches all over America today, people are trying to find out what is "enough" to get them into Heaven. 

Church once a week or once a year even? 

A few mission trips?

Teaching Sunday School?

Well, maybe the children should start teaching us, because this one at least seems to have it.

There was no pride in this child's statement, she said it as she felt it was.

In fact, her response "slapped me in the face." 

Rather than reading the Bible as a weapon to judge and accuse others or to tweak to fit our own desires, may we read it at face value, and be just as open and honest with ourselves as Sydney was.