Numbers 35-36, Mark 10

In Mark 10:14-15 Jesus says "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

In The Message it says "Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in."

As a mother of young children, it makes me ponder which character traits Jesus is referring to. The Message is on to something in the simple way that children see the world. They don't ponder deep theology and argue about the fine points. When people pass by on the street, they say hi to absolutely everybody. They don't see the people who are poor and dirty as anything but people who probably want to hear about their stuffed dog, the same as the well dressed guy in the nice car. Ethan is pretty sure that we should have a cross mounted on the top of our house to make sure that everyone knows about Jesus. It's not a part of themselves that only comes out on Sunday, they wouldn't know how to make the separation between their religious selves and the part of themselves they can talk about freely. It's all just matter-of-factly part of them.

Interestingly, this story in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke transitions right into the story of the rich man. As I read the scriptures this is the theme that seems to be the most talked about: money needs to be prioritized after God and people. The theme of the whole chapter seems to be the first will be last and the last first. Children do not depend on money. To my kids, quarters are something that is kind of fun to spin on the table. To this rich man it means more to him than the kingdom of God. How do we go from here to there? In a word: slowly. So slowly that we don't realize that now it means more to us than God does.

I am grateful to God for this journey of "training" and bringing this point before me often. I want to be more like the child and less like the rich man.