Our Stories
Change and Become
By Kim Hjelm | posted 07/22/2010
"...unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 18:3)
Two words pop out at me when I read the words of Jesus above: Change and Become. Then I ask, change from what to become what? There are of course many possible dimensions to this short phrase...I will share but one...maybe you could think about it and share a few more? (Please feel free to comment and add your 2 cents on Creekside's Facebook page.)
We are to become like little children, therefore we must change from being adults. This sounds a little crazy, and somewhat backwards from normal human maturation! Exactly. Just like something Jesus would say. Have you noticed how many of the ideas of Jesus are somewhat counter-cultural? Here are a few:
The way to be first is to become last
The way to lead is to serve
To be rich, give
The way of strength is weakness
The way of security is vulnerability
The way of life is death
Gain Freedom by giving up control
Discover yourself by forgetting yourself
Jesus' teaching is crazy to a world obsessed with power and success. The Gospel presents many crazy ideas and images of the meaning and purpose of life.* Matthew 18 is just one more example!
What is it exactly that we need to change so that we can become like little children? Mike Yaconelli in his book Dangerous Wonder, explains that as we grow up our 'God-hearing' gets lost. He tells a story of the day when he realized he really couldn't fly like Superman...it was only a childhood fantasy. "In retrospect, my day of "enlightenment" was a very sad day. I know now that something inside of me died that day. Whatever the "something" was, it was the stuff of dreams and imagination - the place where dancing, singing, laughter, and playing lived. Even at six, I understood that the possibility of flying wasn't the point: it was the aliveness I felt when I thought I could fly; it was the voice I heard deep inside - a warm and loving voice, a living, believing voice, I recognized who it was: God. But that day, when I was just six years young, my God-hearing went bad." He goes on to explain that "when we are children, the voice is very loud, shattering our awareness with overwhelming clarity. Its loudness is not like a train or a jet engine. It shouts to us with a whisper...This voice of our childhood is the voice of wonder and amazement, the voice of God, which has always been speaking to us, even before we were born....We did not want to stop hearing God's voice. Indeed, God kept on speaking. But our lives became louder. The increasing crescendo of our possessions, the ear-piercing noise of busyness, and the soul-smothering volume of our endless activity drowned out the still, small voice of God."
To be able to hear God, we need to become like children - we need to quiet the noise so that the voice that is continuously calling our names can be heard. Children are fresh, uncomplicated, uncluttered and expectant. Hearing God is not something they have to do...it just happens. What steps can we take to get to the point where we can hear God again? Be still. Be quiet. Be willing. Be available. Be expectant.
Yaconelli describes his experience of the return of his God-hearing: "I had heard a familiar voice. Oh, it wasn't audible, but I heard it nonetheless. The voice was the voice of my childhood. It was the unmistakable voice of Jesus. He had found me!...and my heart began to tingle with anticipation. The numbness of my heart began to dissipate, and I could sense the beginning of a wild and new way of living...and my life hasn't been the same since. He has not been telling me what to do, He has been telling me how much He loves me. He has not corrected my behavior, He has been leading me into His arms. And He has not protected me from the dangers of living, He has led me into the dangerous place of wild and terrifyingly wonder-full faith."
I am not sure about you, but it has been awhile since I have felt this sort of awe, joy, fear, excitement, marvel and sense of adventure in my faith. What other attributes of children do we need to rediscover as adults to regain our childlikeness? Curiosity? Playfulness? Passion? Grace? Are you willing to take a chance to "find the place all children know about: the place where we once again can hear the whisper of Jesus"? This idea causes me to feel unsettled, but excited...just the right feelings to begin an adventure of a lifetime! Are you in?
*Ideas from Jesus Drives me Crazy! Lose Your Mind, Find Your Soul by Leonard Sweet
Kim can be reached via email.
