The Fastest Way to Reach Christ

My sister-in-law and her husband are staying with my wife and I for a couple weeks until they close on their home. They brought their dog and my two little nieces who have bagpipes for voices and can’t wait to play with whoever’s interested first thing in the morning.

This particular morning, I’m heading to work - all dressed and ready to go - when those two critter turned me into a tree before I could get all the way down the stairs.

“Pick me up Uncle Roy!” said the oldest. Her arms shot up and I obliged.

“Pwsikmiiiiiyup!” said the younger one.

I tried to shift the older one to my left arm (a tougher task as she grows) and scooped up the younger one with my right. I quickly planted kisses on their foreheads and tried to put them down.

But they just clung and giggled.

“Alright guys, let go, Uncle has to go to work,” said my sister-in-law. Reality set in for everyone - they climbed down to Earth and I climbed down the stairs.

In the beginning of Matthew 18, the disciples left everything to follow Jesus except for their egos. One day (after discussing amongst themselves I’m sure) they asked him,

“Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" (v 8)

He calls a child to stand by them, then makes a statement they weren’t expecting:

“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (vv 3-4)

I’ll bet my bottom temple tax that that’s not what they expected to hear. And that’s why it’s hard for some of us to come to Christ now.

Our pride.

We see Jesus, but we don’t want to acknowledge Him as Lord over our lives. We’re not interested in telling Him to "pick us up and never put us down.” We’re too prideful to think that all he wants to do is love us and for us to trustingly follow him without reservation - like little children.

We grow old and how we once saw Jesus in our innocence gets traded away for logic and reason.

The fastest way to come to Christ is to mentally drink from the fountain of youth. To understand that everyday is an opportunity to deepen our Christo-centric paradigm.

And that sometimes, children have all the answers.