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| JESUS SAID, LET THE CHILDREN COME TO ME. Image from ourladyofmountcarmel.org via google.com |
"Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept
the kingdom of God
like a child will not enter it."
Today's children may not be the perfect representation of the children that the Apostles tried to ward off and which the Lord blessed during His time as we read in today's Gospel. Today's children seem to be very much different from the children of His time - and who's fault is it? We live in an era when mass media make children adults before their time. And since children become exposed to materials and influence that they are not yet prepared to properly process because of their age, they become unnecessarily led to an advanced state to which they do not yet belong to.
Jesus our Lord talks about children who are innocent, truly dependent upon their parents, and easily taught about what they need to learn about life. These characteristics of children are the characteristics that the Lord wants His followers to have.
Innocence is not knowing what one doesn't have to know yet - which is different from ignorance which is the lack of knowledge about something that one has to know. A ten year old child who does not know about pregnancy tests is innocent but a ten year old child who does not know how to flush the toilet is ignorant. A Christian who does not venture into committing sins is innocent but a Christian who does not know about the articles of Faith is ignorant. Innocence also allow children to enjoy life and have fun without any concern for the future. Christians ought to also enjoy Christian life and have fun proclaiming the Gospel even if persecutions lurk in dark alleys along this pilgrimage.
Dependence in this sense is not being weak and incapable of standing upon one's own feet. Here we mean dependence as our acknowledgment of God's authority and superiority over us - that without Him as our Creator and Provider we won't be existing here and now. A child is dependent on his or her parent because the child needs the parents' love and care. The child may grow up, support him or herself and perhaps start his or her own family. But this does not mean that he or she has already overcome his or her dependence on his or her parents for he or she must continually acknowledge that without them, he or she wouldn't have been born. A Christian is dependent upon God because God created him or her. He or she also may mature in the faith, that is, he or she might be able to know and understand more, commit and defend the Faith that he or she has acquired by birth, but still he or she is dependent upon God's grace in order to really know the truth.
Being easy to be taught is another characteristic of a child, especially in the olden days. Even today, we say that whatever children see in adults, they think that it is the right thing. Children learn more easily through examples. A Christian is also like that. At the start, a Christian learns more easily by example, like when pupils and students in Catholic schools are required to attend Holy Mass on Sundays under the supervision of teachers or monitors for this is one way of training Christians in and of teaching them about the faith. A Christian who fails to understand this wouldn't be easy to teach and therefore fall from the category of being a child.
God's kingdom belongs to children for we are His children. If we argue with Him and insist that we are already grown ups, we might end up sinning. Children who try to act like grown ups before their time end up in a bad state of life, or cause injury to others and to themselves, and damage to property, dignity and integrity. We can only say we are already grown ups when we can fully understand that there is nothing beyond obedience which sustain order and harmony in life and in nature. Just remember what happened to Adam and Eve who acted like grown ups and decided on their own to eat the forbidden fruit after having been lured by the serpent to embrace knowledge which they cannot and wouldn't be able to contain!
Remember also what the Lord Jesus Christ told Peter about being a grown up or old. He told Peter that somebody else would lead him even to places where he doesn't want to go. That's the problem of being a grown up: many times, one has to be where he or she doesn't want to be because grown ups have obligations to fulfill which many times do not even really respond to what they truly need, but mere attempts to satisfy their wants! While children get easily satisfied as long as their needs are met even if they could not achieve what they want!
The Kingdom belongs to children. Or would you rather be a grown up and miss the fun?
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