I was a child movie star
Well, maybe not a star. But I can be found in a film in the archives of Scripture Press Incorporated. It’s true. The story even made it into the Glen Ellyn News. I had no speaking role. The newspaper listed my name, but Scripture Press simply said there were other children. It was an APR film for Sunday school materials. My job, along with the other children, was to sit in a circle and appear interested, motivated, and excited to use the Scripture Press Sunday School material.
I’m not quite sure if that’s what Jesus had in mind when he had the conversation with his disciples about welcoming children. Well, actually it wasn’t a conversation so much as a scolding.
Let the Children Come
People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them…
And then this remarkable declaration:
…for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
To children. To the childlike. To the innocence in our midst. To the vulnerable—those dependent on parents, family, and other adults who hold authority, make decisions, and carry responsibility for their well-being. And, obviously, to God.
Jesus goes on to say,
Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.
His touch was a blessing. It meant acceptance, welcome, and love. It was a sign of genuine affection and hospitality: let them come, I welcome them, I want to be in their presence and them in mine, for they are receptive to the kingdom of God.
A Curious and Receptive Heart
Children in the kingdom of God. We often assume they’re not ready for theology or spiritual things. We sometimes assume they’re not capable of understanding such things. But Jesus didn’t seem to agree. Let them come.
In the television series The Chosen, a little girl visits Jesus’ campsite. She’s wandering around on her own, playing, and at first is too shy to speak to him. But he finds ways to tease her into a visit. She returns with another child, a boy who is even more shy and afraid than she was. Over time, more children join them, learning to carve objects using Jesus’ carpentry tools. He also teaches them and asks them to pray the Shema, a prayer often prayed daily by faithful Jews, found in Deuteronomy: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”
Children may not understand what is technical or theologically complicated, but they understand the meaning of blessing, acceptance, and touch. They are also not easily satisfied. They always seem to want more. I think that’s part of what Jesus liked in them. They were eager to learn, to enjoy his presence, and to be together—one with the other.
Of course, he does not honor childishness or selfishness, nor does he ask us to stop growing deeper. But he does something astonishing. He welcomes them as they are. He does not tell them to wait and come back only when they’re older, more spiritually mature, or intellectually capable. They have no résumé of spirituality to hand to Jesus. But they have something he desires, longs for, and expects in those who will enter the kingdom of God: a curious and receptive heart.
Children generally don’t calculate love; they just receive it. Of course, they can be suspicious, demanding, afraid, or reluctant. But someone has taught them. To be that way. For children. And for those who remain childlike. Faith begins with wonder. For the disciples, it was Jesus’ question: What are you looking for? And so, we bring our questions, wonder, curiosity, and more.
Trusting Like a Child
In today’s blog, I really want to invite you to do something a little bit different: I’d love for you to listen to Eliza King sing her song, The Lord’s Prayer.1
She has a quiet, gentle voice that drew me in for an early-morning Sabbath. I listened to her sing the song twice. The first time I just listened to her at her piano. The second time, I pulled up the lyrics (included below). It’s not the traditional text from the Gospels, but a thoughtful rendition of our most important prayer, and one that calls us to come like children.
God, my Holy Father, first your name I seek
Trusting like a child, You will meet my needLet Your kingdom come as your will is done in me
Usher into earth all that heaven longs to seeWhat I’m needing daily, You hold in your hands
Here I find forgiveness and grace to forgiveLet Your kingdom come as Your will is done in me
Usher into earth all that heaven longs to see
Keep me from the one who would lead my heart astray
Every time I call, Father You deliver meYours is the kingdom and the power and the glory
Now and forever, Amen.
Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory
Now and forever, Amen.
Practicing Childlike Wonder
I want to invite you to enter a simple devotional moment.
- Listen to Eliza King’s rendition of the Lord’s Prayer.
- Don’t try to exegete the text or seek deep meaning; just be present and invite Jesus’ presence as she sings.
- Sit in silence for a few minutes and then ponder the first two lines:
God, my holy Father, first Your name I seek
Trusting like a child, You will meet my need.
- When was the last time you felt either childlike with curiosity and excitement or a moment recently when you stood in awe of something God placed in your pathway just because… I noticed a
flash of color out my “cabin” window (our name for my study with its knotty pine walls and ceiling). For almost an hour, I had company and a co-worker as I wrote.
- Now, listen to Eliza King sing it once again. You might follow along with the lyrics this time. Pray the lyrics this time in childlike faith—allow Jesus’ prayer to touch you and lay hands on you through the tender music.
Don’t think.
Abide.
Wait on the Lord.
Be present.
Simply show up and let the prayer be yours today.
What could it mean for you to come each day in childlike wonder?
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Keith Anderson, D.Min., is a Faculty Associate for Spirituality and Vocation at VantagePoint3 and President Emeritus of Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. He is the author of several books, including his most recent: On Holy Ground: Your Story of Identity, Belonging and Sacred Purpose (Wipf & Stock, 2024). His other works include Reading Your Life’s Story (IVP, 2016), A Spirituality of Listening (IVP, 2016), and Spiritual Mentoring (IVP, 1999). In his writing, teaching, and mentoring, Keith seeks to set a table for people looking to enter the “amazing inner sanctuary of the soul” in the most ordinary and extraordinary moments of life.
1 Eliza King, “ The Lord’s Prayer,” YouTube, 4:06, October 9, 2020