Seeing the Invisible

Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it. - Jesus

When I was growing up, if my brother, sisters, and I were too rambunctious, my dad would remind us that “children are to be seen and not heard.” I don’t know if people still say things like that these days, but I don’t think that’s a healthy attitude.

Children should be seen AND heard. When my siblings and I were quiet, our parents had cause for concern. We weren’t bad kids. Far from it, we were a joy to be around (if memory serves). However, we were also a fairly curious bunch in those days (you can take that any way you wish), and being quiet around the house usually meant we were putting our curiosity to work.

My brother, when he was losing his baby teeth (and having been suitably rewarded by the tooth fairy) found a dead rat one day out in our back yard. He noticed the rodent had plenty of teeth and (cha-ching) he saw no reason the Tooth Fairy would object to paying him for teeth that were technically his. I do believe he had the best legal mind among preschoolers in our neighborhood.

He and I trundled off to the shed to put a set of pliers to work de-fanging the beast when our mother, who had become alarmed by the sound of our silence, came looking for us. She was horrified to discover what we were up to and made us abandon our backyard dental clinic, sending us directly into the house to wash up.

How sad. She could have had a lawyer and a dentist in the family if she had simply encouraged us to pursue our interests, but alas, it was not to be.

When Jesus took children into his arms and commended them to his disciples as models of kingdom principles, I don’t believe Jesus was wearing rose colored glasses and thinking of children as sweet innocents. I am sure Jesus had his share of challenges growing up in a village where his own paternity was questioned. Children of every age, tribe, and tongue can be cruel – a trait certainly not limited to adults or ISIS.

So, if it wasn’t a sense of virtue borne of naiveté, what attribute might Jesus be commending to those who wish to follow him and enter the kingdom of heaven?

The first thing that strikes me is a child’s invisibility. Until Jesus drew the child into his arms, there is no mention of him or her. She was neither seen nor heard, and yet Jesus received her. That is an image of the kingdom, isn’t it? You don’t need power or status to be welcomed into the arms of God. In fact, with power and status, you may not even want God; it’s God who becomes invisible.

Secondly, children are oriented toward the present. The child doesn’t ask Jesus to go away and come back when it is more convenient for the child. A child lives in the moment and is so INTO the moment that all other matters fade into the background. When a child receives a gift, they often rip into it without remembering to say “thank you” to the gift giver.  Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is among you; it is in your midst; it is NOW.”

Like the child, we are expected (I think) to rip into the gift of eternal life now and to enjoy it and put it to work immediately. I think Jesus trusts that the day will come when we will remember to say “thank you” to the Lord and Giver of life; but until that day comes, Jesus is delighted to see our eyes sparkle as we receive the gift and accept it with complete abandon.

Children, you see, are able to understand a gift as nothing more than that: a gift. Adults want to earn what they receive. Adults forget how to accept God’s grace simply, earnestly, honestly, and humbly.

God, who notes with sorrow the passing of a sparrow (and possibly of rats, too) stretches out his arms to embrace all the little ones in this, our valley. You are not invisible to God. With eyes of faith, you’ll discover that God is not invisible to you, either. Peace!