People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” —Luke 18:15-17 (NIV)
We’ve all heard this message time and again, but I think there are two reasons we need to continue to hear this particular message: as adults we overcomplicate things, and at times we lack imagination.
I’ve grown up hearing this passage, but it wasn’t until working on my Master’s degree that I began to grasp what Jesus meant. In a world where everything was theory, criticism, and academic speak, I did not want to come to church and hear more academic interpretation of the Bible. Luckily, my nephew was a toddler at the time, so I ended up in Tiny Tots a lot. I liked that Sabbath School. We learned lessons like when a sheep is lost the Shepard will find him and sang songs like “Jesus Loves Me.” Simple. Profound. In the complexities of school, work, bills, the desire to sleep, etc. I strayed away from a core fact: I have a God that loves me and will help me through everything. It took visiting the littles and hearing their lessons to remind me in the simplest of terms how great my God is and how much he loves me.
The second part of this lesson is that we need the imagination of a child.
Kid’s imaginations are magical. I remember babysitting my niece one time when she decided we needed to be space traveling superhero princesses who had to defeat villains, and she created a special flying song to get us to other planets (because why not). Through her eyes everything was so real, and we could conquer anything. It is this same kind of imagination that allowed dozens of little kids to follow me and go “swimming” in the Sea of Galilee during VBS this last summer. No questions, no arguments, just action. They were willing to believe and follow me.
Children have big dreams and see the world not for what it is but what it could be. This is why children tend to be drawn to fantasy and fairy tales. In these kinds of stories children can see worlds of possibility. I love the quote by Neil Gaiman, saying, “Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten.” A child’s imagination and drive are endless; their imagination allows to them take on the world around them, and where necessary defeat dragons. As adults we lose this kind of imagination to the monotony of daily work, bills, and other stressors. Yet these are the times we need imagination the most so we can see a God willing to find us when lost, willing to help us through the tough days, and who loves us no matter what.
When we allow ourselves to find the simplicity and imagination of childhood we can see greatness. This is why I love interacting with kids. When I can see the world through a child’s eyes I see the magic and goodness around me, and I see that I too can defeat dragons—these days that may mean helping students overcome barriers, but I’m okay slaying those dragons.
Today I wish for you the simplicity and imagination of a child so you can see a God big enough and loving enough to help you defeat your dragons.
Megan McDonough is the Interim Director for the Office of Disability Services at La Sierra University. She also teaches English and Humanities classes.