You may not know this about me, but I’m a bit of a country music fan. In my experience, country music can be a bit divisive. Basically, either you love it or it’s the worst music out there. I’m kinda right in the middle. I like it, but not all of it, and I wouldn’t say I love it. One artist I have yet to hear a bad song from though, is Alan Jackson. He’s got a great voice and a great talent for songwriting. In 2003, he wrote a song called, “Remember When”. It’s a love song about his and his wife’s life together, watching their kids grow up and move out, and them reaching older age. It’s a nostalgic song if there ever was one.
When my dad and brother were here towards the beginning of February, they brought some old VHS tapes. I’d wager most young people, if not all of them, have no idea what a VHS tape is, or what a VCR was. I think that’s a bit of a shame because that was basically my whole childhood of video entertainment. Last summer, during the youth group’s fundraiser of doing different jobs for people in the church, I received a VCR from Ken and Sherril Simmers. Thankfully, and a bit surprisingly, it still worked. 3 of the tapes that my dad and brother brought were old home movies. One was from 1998-1999, one from 2001-2002, and one from a family vacation in 2008. Watching those old home movies has been so cool to me. Talk about remember when! One video was from a blizzard on New Year’s 1999 that dumped about 15 inches of snow. That’s a crazy video to watch. My almost 8-year-old brother was waist deep in snow in our front yard.
All this is to say that life was so different back then. Life was simpler. I probably don’t need to tell you that life gets crazier as you get older. We lose that childlike joy in life as responsibilities pile up. It can become easy to get frustrated with how life unfolds. It can become easy to get bitter about life when things don't happen like you dream they would. But God doesn't want us to get bitter or frustrated. He wants us to lean on him, like children lean on their parents. In fact, Jesus teaches this in a rather straightforward way. In Matthew 18:1-5, we read, “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
“He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”
Jesus calls us to be like children, and if we don’t, we won’t enter the kingdom of heaven. That seems important. Do you remember what being a kid was like? I know there’s a lot of discussion among the different generations about who had the best childhood, in terms of the culture at the time. Technology is a big part of that discussion, as it has played an increasingly bigger role in each generation. It seems to me that the rise of smartphones, social media, and all the other advances in the last 20 years has really affected childhood nowadays. It’s sad to see. It’s a relief when I come across a kid that isn’t as dependent on their smartphones. Granted, it is hard to live life without a smartphone in this culture, as they play a huge role in today’s lifestyles and cultures, but I do know the more we depend on such technology, the less childlike we become.
So what does it mean to be childlike? I’ve heard many sermons about this over the years. I’d like to make it rather simple. To be a child is to be dependent on your parents. In the home videos my dad brought, my brother and I were dependent on mom and dad to feed us, to help us, to drive us places, and many other things. We were children. We couldn’t do much on our own. This is what I think Jesus is getting at here in Matthew 18. Be dependent on God. As we get older and more independent, we can lose that dependence on God because we feel like we can do it all. We can fix our own problems. And maybe some things we can, but keep in mind that the Jesus says in Matthew 4 during his time of temptation that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. We only have life because God has granted us life. So we can’t do it all without God.
How dependent are you on God? Do you cast all your cares on Him? Do you go to Him with all your problems? Do you lean on him like a child on their parents? Or do you try to fix it all yourself? I’ve had the poor attitude that some things aren’t worth bothering God about. I’ve also talked with other people that have that attitude at times. But God WANTS to help you. He isn’t called Father for no reason. He loves you, and wants you to lean on him just as when we were kids we leaned on our parents. Let God be the Father for you that He wants to be.
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! -Matthew 7:11(NIV)
