Only the Childlike

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3, ESV).

Only the childlike…

An adult believes he knows best.

An adult would like to see the schedule first.

An adult would like the discounted version.

An adult is wary of commitments.

An adult doesn’t want surprises.

An adult prefers some creature comforts.

An adult doesn’t like ambiguity.

Bottom line: An adult wants to be in control.

Control is adulting. It is independence. Henley captures the spirit of it: “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”

Control.

But a child…

A child is all in.

A child lives in the moment.

A child is flexible and endlessly adaptable.

A child is used to not understanding everything.

A child trusts.

A child welcomes and receives care from others.

A child asks for help.

A child is dependent.

Those who depend on God will enter the Kingdom. For they recognize they never really were independent, masters of their fate.

So the old catechism reads: What is my only hope? That I belong, body and soul, to the Lord.

I am a child who belongs to another.

Only the childlike, only the humble, can enter because only they ask for the help necessary to enter. Only they surrender their rights to join the adventure.