Day of Praise

Fr, 10/11/13, "Day of Praise"

"But what about you?" [Jesus] asked. "Who do you say I am?" - Matthew 16:15

Curly hair. Sweet little smile. Who doesn't love a little kid?

Have you ever heard a little one sing "Jesus Loves Me"? It is absolutely one of the top treasures in life.

Because it's all about Jesus.

It comforts a child to tell others, to sing to others, who Jesus is to them. 1) Jesus loves me. 2) Jesus makes sure that I know that Jesus loves me. 3) The book about Jesus tells me that Jesus loves me. 4) Jesus has claimed me as his own. 5) Jesus is strong for me because I'm weak.

If Jesus asked a kid, who knows the good song, "Who do you say I am?" (Matthew 16:15), then the child would just sing the good song.

Because it's all about Jesus.

So what happened? Why is it that when we leave childhood behind, we also leave our child-likeness behind? If Jesus asked a kid, who knows the good song, "Who do you say I am?" (Matthew 16:15), then the child would just sing the good song that's all about Jesus. If Jesus asked an adult, "Who do you say I am?" (Matthew 16:15), then the adult would not sing, but they'd tell you, "Well, for one, I believe in Jesus. And I pray to Jesus. And I worship Jesus. And I read books about Jesus. And I give money to help Jesus."

See the difference? The kid's talkin' about Jesus. The adult's talkin' about, well, the adult.

Maybe that's why Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14). Maybe, as much as kids need to be around Jesus, the adults need even more to be around kids who know the good song.

And why might that be true? Because no matter how much I might do in my adult way of doing in order to show that I love Jesus, Jesus loves me even more.

I mean, any kid knows that!

Praise God!


Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson