…”and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3 NKJV)
“Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” (Luke 18:17 NKJV)
“And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, ‘let the children come to me, do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.’ And he took them, laying hands on them.” (Mark 10:13-16 ESV)
Innocence is quickly becoming a rare commodity in our world. We live in a world that scorns innocence. Innocence lost is a terrible thing. Even worse is innocence stolen.
I met the most innocent 21 year old on planet earth in 1983 (at least it seemed that way to me). Before I unpack that statement let me set the scene.
I had gone to Grand Rapids School of the Bible and Music to escape the world. I stepped foot on the campus with an inner vow that I would spend three years set apart from anything that had tempted me to settle for a life less than God’s best. Especially women! I had spent the past few years running away from the “call” on my life entangled in what the Bible calls the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life. A big part of this less than perfect life were excessive drinking and relationships built on physical attraction and sexual pleasure. I would have a lot of fun for a short period of time and then the relationship would crash and burn leaving both of us to deal with the pain and scars that we had created.
Having made the decision to basically become a monk for three years, I started my freshman year avoiding any form of relationship with anyone of the opposite sex. Then my Daddy dropped a bomb into my life. I was introduced to a woman named Melody. I was 23 and trying to escape a downward spiraling pattern that started when I was 16. She was 21 and working to move her godly life forward in her pursuit of serving the Lord. As I mentioned, she was a living epistle of innocence.
After hanging out with a small group of freshman that included Melody for a couple of weeks, on one particular evening I found myself alone with her in the Commons Building sharing a chocolate peanut butter shake. The rest of our group had finished their shakes and moved on, leaving just the two of us. I didn’t have a shake so Melody offered to share hers. As we sat across the table from each other there was something different about her. So different that I knew I had to take immediate action. Without giving it a second thought I blurted out, “Just so you know, I am not interested in dating anyone while I am going to this school (obviously I was very interested).” She looked at me like a Doe looking into the headlights of a car. We finished our shake in silence and then went our separate ways. The next day my buddy told me that I must be some kind of idiot for doing what I did. He said that Melody told him about my outburst and had no idea where I was coming from.
Here’s the thing, Melody was just tha oppositie of me. She had lived a life of keeping herself separate from the vast majority of “sin” that is so prevalent in this world. She had a naivety about her that was rare and precious. Her childlike innocence was so refreshing to me that I had to get to know her. Just being in her presence wisked me back to a time in which I was unfetterd by the mistakes and bad choices which had stolen my innocence and weighed me down. Melody was a living example of what Jesus meant when He told us that we needed to be like a child to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. By the way, we married less than a year later and had 37 wonderful years of marraige before Melody entered fully into the Kingdom of Heaven where she is now dancing with Jesus in childlike bliss.
A child, as Jesus is speaking of being a child, is not weighed down by sin. Children don’t carry the heavy baggage of bad choices and broken relationships. They are not filled with scepticism and doubt. They have not hardened their hearts or tainted their minds and emations from the burdens of this life. Children are innocent and naive.
The best part of all of this is that even if like me you have allowed your innocence to be lost or stolen, God will restore it. He will give you the ability to look at things without the tarnished view of this broken world. He will restore in your spirit, as he did with me, the ability to see your surroundings as fresh and alive from the spiritual naivety of a child. Go ahead and personalize…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 307: The Faith of a Child: What’s it Look Like? – Part 3 – It’s “Innocent”