And Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me'.
I'm missing these faces today.
An excerpt from a novel I'm reading for class, The Shadow of the Galilean:
''What frontier is this?''
''This is the beginning of the kingdom of God.''
I wanted to explode with anger, but I restrained myself. Why shouldn't I play their game? So I did, ''What must I do to enter your kingdom?''
The children laughed. The oldest one said:
'Unless you become like little children again,
you will not enter the kingdom of God.'
''Who rules in your kingdom?''
''We rule this kingdom. The children. The kingdom of God is ours.''
''And what duty must I pay?''
''Give us something to eat.''
''Is that all?''
''There is no kingdom that you can enter so easily. All you must do is give away what you possess. Then you belong to it.''What lessons can be learned from young ones: those of innocence, generosity, acceptance, unconditional love, vulnerability.
It has been said the cure for depression is time spent with children.
For reminders of silliness, look to the lighthearted little ones-the ones who laugh at little things.
For lessons of grace, observe those who are the best at granting it.
The ones who realize there are more important things in this life than holding grudges. Than discriminating against those of different color. Than judging the broken.
To get a glimpse of heaven on earth, look to the ones who aren't afraid to be themselves. To those who live in joy. To those who thrive in truth. To those who imagine courageous heroes and brave knights. To those who pretend to battle scaly dragons and summit great mountains. To those who believe in the power of their dreams. To those who have faith in the future of their hope. To those who have passion and beauty and color and life-and often don't even know it.
It's a natural part of who they are. They are kingdom-filled.
Instead of allowing the world to steal the fire deep in their souls-instead of stealing it from them ourselves- what if we strived to preserve it?
Instead of looking down on their behavior, what if we tried to understand it?
Instead of assuming they bring nothing to the table, what if we assumed they have much to offer?
We often think the children need us, but what if we need the children?
Haitian. American. Asian. European. Russian. African. And on and on and on...
The kingdom is theirs.
Once, it was ours too.
As we grow older, the darkness tries to overtake it.
Tries to steal it.
Tries to make us forget or think we don't need it.
Maybe that's why Peter Pan never wanted to grow up.
The kingdom is supposed to be a natural part of every person.
It slowly fades away with time.
Thankfully, we are never too old to grow younger.
It is never too late to stop and appreciate bird-chirping weather.
We can always make time for laughter
('for it is the sunshine that chases winter from the face' -Les Miserables).
Every day it is always our duty to 'give the world a reason to dance'.
Imagination has no age limit.
These lessons and more can be learned from young souls.
The secrets of heaven are held by the hearts that we often overlook.
Do we truly know how precious children are?
Let the little children teach us what we've forgotten we need to know, for the kingdom is theirs.
