Do It Again Daddy!

What's the difference between being childish and child-like? Are you willing to be confronted with the answer?

Think of one (just one) foolish thing you did as a child.

I remember one “project” I attempted as a single-digit-aged kid. I thought it would be “fun” to paint the basement of our house! The problem was I didn’t have enough paint to do all the walls, the right paintbrush to do the job, or the “know-how” to do it right. A little paint here and a little paint there was all I managed, and it didn’t please my mother at all. She wasn’t shy in “expressing” her disapproval of my home improvement project!

Children make bad choices and do foolish things at times. I’ve even seen them be cruel to one another.

So, why does Jesus take the opportunity to teach a central truth about the Kingdom of God by correcting His disciples when they tried to stop the people from bringing their children to Jesus for His blessing?

Jesus insists that we must be childlike to embrace His kingdom, His message, and His life. He establishes childlikeness as a foundational attitude we MUST develop if we are ever going to be Normal Orthodox.

Look at our lesson today in Luke 18:15-17, 26-30:

At that time, they were bringing infants to Jesus that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” But he said, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” And Peter said, “Lo, we have left our homes and followed you.” And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no man who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive manifold more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Look at what Jesus says: “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” Learning to hold onto being childlike is necessary if we are to be mature followers of Jesus!

But is there a difference between being “child-like” and “childish?” You bet there is!

Look at what St. Paul tells the Corinthians: “BRETHREN, when I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” (1 Corinthians 13:11)

There is a HUGE difference between being childish and childlike.

Childishness should be abandoned as we mature. The selfish and self-centered tendencies of children to scream “Mine” when someone else is playing with a favorite toy, the undeveloped perspective of the vastness of the human soul, and the unlearned lessons of discipline and patience, all work in a child to fashion a childishness that screams immaturity and a lack of perspective. The all too often tendency of childishness to be self-centered and blind to others is deadly to a mature person. Indeed, a mature believer has outgrown these temptations in their developed faith.

But childlikeness—now, there is something to be held on to forever—that ability to simply trust that “daddy will take care of me.” The simple and loving embrace of true affection. The innocence of unfamiliarity with “sophisticated” sins. All these points to the huge difference between childlikeness and childishness.

To be childlike is to be willingly vulnerable and unashamedly so. To be childlike is to run to love. To be childlike is to trust. To be childlike is to be willing to truly experience the moment you are in without expecting the next moment. I want to be focused on what is in front of me and see it for all it is! This childlike superpower is to be valued so I can enter into a loving relationship with God and others!

A wise man once said that if you wanted to know something of the joys of eternity, think of eternity as a child playing with her father and asking repeatedly, “Do it again, Daddy.” The child never tires of the pleasure of that moment.

Tomorrow is the Feast of the Presentation of the Theotokos in the Temple. This feast day calls us to contemplate a part of the Story that isn’t in the Bible but is part of the Holy Tradition of our Orthodox Christian Faith. The story is about how Mary was brought to the Temple in Jerusalem to be dedicated to God and raised in the Temple to prepare her for God's awesome invitation to be the Mother of the Messiah. God’s presence surrounded her childhood. Her idea of a “normal” life was a singular, focused living in the atmosphere of prayer and devotion. Her childhood was formed SO THAT she would become the physical Temple of God that would bring us our Lord Jesus. It is so important to discern what shapes and forms you.

Today, are you childish or childlike? Your answer to this question will give you a perfect diagnostic look into whether you are, at this moment, embracing God’s kingdom or standing outside this blessed place! If you’re like me, you’ll discover both childlikeness and childishness. So, thank God the Church preserves the wisdom of proper spiritual disciplines to help us embrace Normal Orthodoxy!

P.S. By blossoming forth the only Ever-virgin as fruit, today holy Anna betroths us all unto joy instead of our former grief; on this day, she fulfills her vows to the Most High, leading her with joy into the Lord's holy temple, who truly is the temple and pure Mother of God the Word.

Fr. Barnabas Powell is the parish priest at Sts. Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene Greek Orthodox Church in Cumming, GA. He is also the founder of Faith Encouraged Ministries and produces the Faith Encouraged Daily Devotional on Substack. Watch the Faith Encouraged YouTube Channel here - https://www.youtube.com/@FaithEncouragedTV