Last night, our friends invited us to join them at their lake property for the 4th of July festivities. It just so happens that fireworks are legal in that particular county, so anyone and everyone can set off their fountains, missiles, rockets, and so on. Therefore, as the sun set and the sky darkened, I was transported back to the 1970s, when I was still a kid and the world seemed so big and fireworks were not illegal. If you’ve had one of those vivid, realistic dreams where you’re back in your childhood days, you understand my evening at the lake. The only difference is that it was REAL.
Wherever I looked, fireworks lit up the sky. Wherever I heard (if that is a phrase), booming sounds rang out almost continuously. If you would have told me that I’d literally traveled back in time, I might have believed you. As bizarre and surreal as this experience was, it also refreshed in my mind a sense of childlike wonder. Maybe I’m not so grown up after all. And maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
Since I strive to live with a humble, unpretentious trust in God that one could call a “childlike faith,” why shouldn’t I act like a kid in the truly important ways? In Mark chapter 10, verses 13-16, we read the following:
13 “People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.”
I guess I don’t want to grow up when it comes to my complete trust in Jesus and my utter dependence on Him for even my next breath. So, although I can’t go back in time very often (I still think I might have last night), I’ll do everything in my power to live like a child, standing in awe of my Father.
Troy Burns