Be a Kid

I just finished a book I purchased six months ago. I have so many books I want to read that I have a back log. In the last part of, In a Pit With a Lon on a Snowy Day, author Mark Batterson explains some research on Divergent thinking, and intellectual originality. He referenced a study that found 98% of 3-5 year old children score in the genius category for divergent thinking. As children grow and lean that number drops. By age 25 only 2% of those studied scored in the genius level.

Children are willing to think creatively and outside the box. As we grow older we learn the rules of the box and our creativity and willingness decrease. The author then refers to Matthew 18:4.

Jesus says,
"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (NIV)

To conform to Christ means non-conformity in this world. Paul tells us to stop conforming to the world and start conforming to Christ (Romans 12:2). Our world teaches us to be inhibited about things that we ought to be bold about, and bold about things that should embarrass us to death. Let's be like little children and worship God without reservation. Let's be like little children and share our faith like the boy that is proud of his father, and thinks he can beat all the other dads in the city. Let's love people with hugs and smiles and the warmth of a child.

Here is my take on the thing. I think we are all little children on the inside anyway. As a Pastor, I often look at myself and the men in our church as a group of over experienced little boys. I see men on the outside, but on a deeper level I see the boy that lost his dad to cancer, the boy that gets picked on at recess, the boy that is the class bully because he is big and does not know what to do with himself. I see the boy who is unsure about himself, but follows the crowd because it is easy. I see the boy that is an artist, but won't admit it because he is surrounded by athletes. I see the boy that really likes the funny looking girl, but can't tell anyone because they all think she is funny looking. There are millions of examples!

I know the little boy that I still am. I am the adventurer, the hunter, the builder, the farmer, and the musician that I know many of my class mates are not. I am also the boy who feels inhibited because the other boys are more funny, wear nicer clothing, and make better grades. I know I have abilities, but they are not the most popular abilities at the time. Nobody in my class wants to grow up to be a farmer or a pastor.

When I gave my life to Christ at 15, I gained a confidence that I never had before. I could be Paul and love Jesus and nothing else mattered. I was who God made me to be and the only thing that mattered was following him. My friends actually criticised my over confidence. The hard part is this. As I grow older, I have to grow older and take up new tasks, lean new things, and still be the bold, courageous young man that Jesus saved in 1987.

What kind of boy (or girl) are you? What kind of boy (or girl, if you are a girl) does Jesus want you to be?