Author: Allison Powell
Published: October 14, 2005
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Do you remember Ahmad’s 1994 classic nostalgic rap song entitled “Back in the Day?” His rap lyrics spit a melodic flow: “Back in the days when I was young, I’m not a kid anymore, but some days, I sit and wish I was a kid again.” No one has been exempt from experiencing childhood. Hopefully, each of us experienced at least one good memory worth reminiscing about.
I recently attended my high school reunion. It stirred many childhood and adolescent memories. Retro television shows, and movies are reminiscent of our childhood years. Childhood ‘flashbacks’ occurred when UPN’s television show “Everyone Hate’s Chris” was watched, or when the movie “Bounce, Rock” was viewed. Music tends to stir the ‘good ole days’ in our dancing souls. The sounds of the Temptations, Superchick, Prince, Run DMC, Bow-Wow, Kanye West, DC Talk, or Jars of Clay will forever remind us of personally ‘back in the day’ moments. Memories are some personal reminders of our past which seemed less complicated, fun, and for some ‘a simpler’ way of life.
Back in the day, our parents (or guardians) shaped many childhood moments for us. Either positively or negatively, adults imparted something in us. In retrospect, some adults modeled the art of complaint, comment, and bargaining as they interacted with us. Parental efforts represented an overwhelming power and ‘touch’ over us, intended to obtain some desired outcome through us. Do you resonate with parents/guardians former statements? : “Clean up your room,” “Say sorry for hitting your sister,” “Go and pick that up,” “Eat all your food, even the vegetables,” “Get up! It’s time to go to church or school,” “We won’t go to ...(fill in the blank), if you don’t act right today.” We’ve forgotten that as children, our understanding was limited. The child in most of us once believed that all correct answers were derived from our own reasoning and perspective. Guardians’ intent was to raise us, shape us, and in their perception make us ‘good kids’ and ‘successful adults.’
Biblical wisdom instructed parents to train up children in the ways they SHOULD go, and when they are old the children shall not depart from those ways. Whether we are young adults, college students, single, divorced, or married there are several biblical words of advice that reminds us to recall our childhood days. If you haven’t noticed, you grew up and became the sum of those who influenced you the most.
An adaptation of a biblical story is found in the book of Mark chapter 10 verses 13-16 shares: “one day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch them and bless them. Jesus’ buddies (called ‘disciples’) told the parents not to bother Jesus. Jesus saw that the parents and children were leaving when they attempted to visit him. He was very displeased with his disciples. Jesus said to the disciples “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! The kingdom of God belongs to these people. I assure you anyone who doesn’t have childlike faith (beliefs) will never get into the Kingdom of God.”
Consider when you were young. This bible story challenges one to consider places your parents/guardians brought you to. There are several types of places, people, and experiences that well intentioned parents exposed us to as children. While visiting New York, a mom took her son to visit two universities, because she wanted him to see and think about college. He was only a sophomore in high school. Was he too young to consider college? The young man didn’t want to use his time in New York visiting colleges, yet mom made him tour the colleges. Some parents indulged kids in negative cultural value experiences through exposure to gossip, violence, profanity, and sexuality. Others brought children to experience media influence’s thorough exposure to the arts and other things such as: Television, video, the opinions of others, and video computer games. Negative media influences can rob children of original thinking. Bruce Springstein recently said on the PBS Special: ‘Get Up, Stand Up: The Story of Pop & Protest”: “People turn to the arts, and music to assist them in conceptualizing their experience.” Do you wonder how children conceptualize their experiences today? Moreover, some parents brought their kids to see church as a form of spirituality and relationship to God. How have you conceptualized your childhood and life’s experiences?
The parents illustrated in this bible story, brought their children to see Jesus. Parents of ancient Israel considered children ‘highly valued’ as ‘gracious gifts of God.’ Ancient Israeli mothers brought children to visit Jesus for a simple touch and blessing. Consider how you been impacted by the places, people, and things that your guardians took you to see. Will you visit God at his places?
“Doesn’t everyone want to be touched and blessed by someone? Don’t we see people who are touched and blessed by Oprah, Dr. Phil, famous actors, singers, and athletes? As son of God, Jesus was the source of blessings for all, according to the bible. Some consider the word “bless” as only a religious word. “Bless” means “when one requests from God the bestowal of divine favor on one.” Yet, the word also can mean “to bestow good of any kind upon you; or to protect or guard a person from evil.” As a teenager, I rarely visited Jesus, but when I did I complained and didn’t like it. Yet, if my mother wanted me to go to a particular place, than I would reluctantly go. I recall during my high school junior year. I was in a terrible car accident. The following Sunday after the accident, my mother made me go to church. I wore a neck brace, had a swollen face, and walked with a cane. On that day, my mother’s sole purpose for our church visit was to see God, thank him for my life, request future protection, safety, and healing from my car accident injuries. My family didn’t grow up being religious or regular churchgoers. However, every loving parent wants their child to be blessed, safe, and protected in the future. During that time, I didn’t understand that my mother’s forced church visit provided a covering for my future, and a foundation for my understanding of God in time of trouble. Imagine that parents and Jesus wanted the same outcome in the bible story - - to secure children’s future with blessing, safety, protection, and healing. We are all children of God regardless of age.
You’re not a kid anymore! But you never stop being a child of God. How does one remember to maintain a childlike spirit? In the biblical story, Jesus gave the kids the POWER TO DECIDE FOR THEMSELVES. He said “Let the children come to me, Don’t stop them!” We must always maintain an energetic childlike spirit. Can you recognize when an adult posses’ childlike excitement? Seek out a twinkle that sparkles in some ones eye when they speak about their passion. Sparkling twinkles represents light, and when seen in ones’ eye, it is a sign of power and passion. As adults, this one source of freedom represents our power to pursue the things of God. Knowledge and understanding of our access to ‘come to’ Jesus IS power – now that’s awesome! No one can suppress our approach to God except one of our greatest enemies-- “us.”
Do you recall when parents enforced home curfews? Mom had to know our whereabouts. As we approached our later teenage years and early adulthood our freedom’s increased; thus, personal decision making opportunities increased. Such decision making opportunities were positions of power. Jesus had a concern for the powerless in this story because kids in first century life didn’t have such decision making rights. Today, we as children of God have rights and freedom to access Jesus. NO ONE will stop such opportunities when we seek God for salvation, blessings, guidance, healing, and change.
Will you sit and wish you were a kid again? Consider, what is childlike faith? A person with childlike faith would feel safe even if everything wasn’t normal. Despite tough moments in life, a child would know everything will be ‘all right as long as they were near loving people.’ A New Orleans child survivor told a news reporter that ‘she’s fine, because she had her daddy” as Daddy held her tightly. Childlike faith or “belief ” emulates being genuine, pure, heartfelt, passionate, and energetic. A teenager was asked “When you are old enough to make your own decision regarding weekly church attendance, will you drive yourself and go?” The teenage student indecisively answered “I just don’t know, because I don’t really like this church. I enjoy my friend’s church. I may go sometimes but often I’m tired on Sunday morning. I just want to stay home and sleep.” This teenager doesn’t give adults’ the desired response, yet it’s pure and genuine.
Somewhere in adulthood we often loose our zest for life. It might be a result of peaks, valleys, the mundane, or disappointments experienced. In children, HOPE is afresh DAILY. Children don’t harbor anger, they fall asleep and forget most things that trouble their spirit. Children don’t occasionally show the world a ‘happy face;’ with regularity their childlikeness radiates with happiness. Weeping may endure for a moment, but with children JOY comes each morning. When the happiness is missing from a child’s face, than the hearts of adults become heavy. Can you, or will you allow yourself to be touched, and blessed by Jesus?
It’s easy to examine things that are in clear view within our life. Why in the world would one want to be concerned about the Kingdom of God when there is so much to experience today? It’s harder to consider a place called “the Kingdom of God” which our senses cannot see, feel, hear, or touch. The Kingdom of God is a great mystery similar to perfection. In this ‘new heaven’ God wipes away all tears, there is no death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. We won’t see the benefits in this lifetime, but we will feel the benefits at a later moment in time’s infinity. Older folks, movies, and our imaginations feed us suggestions of what eternal life could look like. There are many biblical wisdom passages that describe eternal life. Is the Kingdom of God something that I should think about now? Personally, I prefer to plan for both today and tomorrow. It is better to BELIEVE in the Kingdom of God and the salvation that Jesus’ offers; instead of a struggle with one’s meager lack of understanding about heavenly things. What if a delayed decision misses the hope for eternal life in a heavenly place? Do you really want to miss out on the heart decision of salvation promises as the most important decision in your life? Children want things’ NOW. Do you want God now? They have the unique talent to believe in the unseen. Kids embrace the imaginary friends, angels, Jesus, stories told to them, Santa Claus, the Bogeyman, the tooth fairy, and ghosts. Many children outgrow the talent to believe the unseen. Doubt creeps into the growing child, as kids become contaminated by other influences. Jesus, and the Kingdom of God aren’t stories to outgrow. It belongs to the childlike people that believe and come to Jesus.
Christian writer and Catholic Priest, Henri Nouwen said “you belong to God and it is as a child of God that you are sent into this world.” Biological parents gave birth to us, but you were sent into this world when God directed your arrival time. That’s how all people are children of God. Nouwen further suggested that parents cannot fulfil that divine role of God for their children’s life. Hence, as you enter adulthood, it somehow felt like parents “left you and you felt abandoned.” Thus, according to Nouwen it is “ precisely that experience of abandonment that called you back to your true identity as a child of God.”
Children of God, we need childlike faith to believe bible stories about a man who once lived as healer and helper to many. The innocence of a child is required to believe that special powers of one man could save all from sins of the world. It requires the attentiveness of a child to believe this man was beaten, killed for helping others. That he rose from the dead three days after he was buried. A person with a childlike attitude would believe that even “we” can be touched and blessed if we would visit Jesus. Children’s faith never outgrows the knowledge of a place that some call “kingdom of God, “; others call “Heaven.” It’s a place in which believing people would live eternally. Children can recognize and believe in the unseen even when such stories seem untouchable and heaven seems ‘far away.’ With the heart of a child, kids want Jesus in their life today, and they can believe this story as ‘truth’ because they want things now. Children of God, will you choose to visit Jesus in God’s places, be touched, blessed, and believe the unseen Kingdom of God?
For additional reading you may read: the book of Mark chapter 10 verse 13-16, Proverbs chapter 22 verse 6, John chapter 3 verses 15-16, Romans’ chapter 10 verses 9-13, Revelations chapter 21 verses 1-7, and the book entitled “The Inner Voice of Love” by Henri J.M. Nouwen.
