"Faith Like a Child..."

"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, and anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." - Mark 10:13-15

We got a taste of what it's like to receive the kingdom of God like a little child this past week. We helped at Cedar Creek Community Church, in Cambridge, leading their soccer week of camp. A team of 4 champion youth leaders, as well as 8 fantastic other youth, were in the fifth week of their day camps, working with alot of the same kids each week.

This week we had 41 kids, alot of them from unchurched homes, and it was this church's last chance to reach out and show God's love. God blessed the love and passion of this church, and already on Tuesday, small miracles were happening before our eyes. Usually, during the hour long lunch, the kids run around in an organized, chaotic manner, enjoying the lack of schedule. After team time and small group time, they throw down their lunch in three minutes and run around for the last 57 or so.

It was different this week, though, as a few kids started asking for Bibles to read, because they wanted to learn more about what we were sharing with them. They wanted to learn more about Jesus.

So, we gave out 15-18 Bibles between Tuesday and Wednesday, and encouraged them to take them home and read for themselves. However, that wasn't good enough for them. They wanted to start immediately, so they went to a room, sat in a small circle, and began reading. It didn't take long before they started asking questions, showing each other what they were reading, and gaining this sense of excitement that was contagious.

Here are some of the questions and comments that came up in their conversations. None of them were prompted or prodded, these were genuine thoughts and exclamations of how awesome God is:

- "It says here that Jesus is the Messiah. What's a 'Messy-ah'?"

- After reading Matthew 1 - "What's with all the fathers of the fathers business?? I don't get it!"

- "So you're telling me that if Adam and Eve didn't eat the fruit from the tree, we'd all be sitting here naked, and be fine with it??? YUCK!"

- "What is my purpose in life? Why am I on this earth?"

- Here's a conversation Renee overheard between three kids:
"How did Jesus get His name?"
"Oh, I read that in my Bible last night....I'll tell you..."
"I have that right here, let me read it for you!"

- "Now who's the guy that wrote about where Jesus was born?"

- "WHOA"

- "So if I had to go to a birthday party, and I had to give them a gift, is it ok if I just give them a Bible?"

- One kid goes around the circle, counting the each of the people there. Then he says, "There's 13 people here, that means Jesus is here, because I read that if there's two or more people here, He is there too."

- "Can I have another Bible, in case I forget one at my dad's house, then I can still have one at my mother's house?"

- When lunch was over, a coach asked them if they wanted to go out on the slip and slide that was set up. They replied, "No, I think I'd rather just sit in the shade and read my Bible."

It was so humbling this week, to see how amazed these kids were, and how easily they found answers to their own questions. It's funny, because today we are so quick to open the Bible and hope for a verse that jumps out and just speaks to us. Then, we get frustrated when the verse we open to does not directly give us a clear answer to our questions. Sometimes, we get into this mindset that the Bible is an umbrella-type of guide, in the sense that we can't expect to just open our Bible and the answer will jump out at us.

God answered prayer this week, and led the kids who were opening the Bible, for the first time, to the stories and lessons that Jesus taught. Through those words, these kids were just in awe. All the leaders did is stand back and watch, a classic and emphatic demonstration of God moving, in His power, so much further and beyond what we could do.

I think we all learned something this week. We learned and witnessed how interested, excited, and encouraged we should be, wherever we are in the Bible. We learned how alive the Word of God really is. We learned how we've over-complicated the Bible, and gotten away from the awesome, unique, simple love of Christ.

This song came to mind more than once this week, by Jars of Clay, called "Faith Like a Child"

Dear God, surround me as I speak,
the bridges that I walk across are weak
Frustrations fill the void that I can't solely bear.

Dear God, don't let me fall apart
you've held me close to you
I have turned away and searched
for answers I can't understand.

They say that I can move the mountains
And send them falling to the sea
They say that I can walk on water
If I would follow and believe with Faith Like a Child

Sometimes, when I feel miles away
and my eyes can't see your face
I wonder if I've grown to lose the
recklessness I walked in light of you

They say that I can move the mountains
And send them crashing to the sea
They say that I can walk on water
If I would follow and believe
with Faith Like a Child

They say that love can heal the broken
They say that hope can make you see
They say that faith can find a Savior
If you would follow and believe
With Faith Like a Child