What Kids Do Best

Jesus scolded His disciples when they wanted to keep children from Him. He instructed them to do the opposite; they were to extend themselves to make sure children got to Him. In one of his songs, King David wrote that "from the lips of children and infants God has ordained praise." I felt the joy and power of that reality this last weekend as I watched the children of our church family present a cute and fun but poignant holiday musical.
To often in my professional and volunteer work in the community I see what happens to children who are deprived of play and praise and forced to survive. Under developed life skills become the permanent skills for life. Joy is replaced by a seriousness. And winsomeness is lost in clouds of fear, anger, depression, addictions, and desperate selfishness.
So I have a thought about children; they were created for play and praise. In play they explore their imaginations, develop their physical skills, pursue the arts, and create a mind capable of story and connecting thoughts. In praise they are able to bring all of these things into focus as they fulfill the ultimate goal of humanity. The Westminster Catechism asks the question "What is the chief end of man (humanity)?" The answer is "To know God and to enjoy Him forever." When children are given the chance to express and experience the chief end of humanity having been nurtured in an atmosphere of loving play they explode with potential.
When these things are taken away the person they could be begins to wither under responsibilities and copings they are not wired for nor are they truly capable of handling. Abuse, no fault divorce, abandonment, parentless homes, early onset competition, and the like have forced our children to grow up at unusual and unhealthy rates. And like bones that grow too fast, their personalities end up lacking the strength to support the demands placed on them. We then send these over experienced but under developed people into the world and wonder why they have trouble functioning as adults.
Just how drastically would our society change if we nurtured and protected play and praise in the lives of our children? "Suffer the children to come unto me" - Jesus of Nazareth.
Just thinking out loud . . .

The Other Thanksgiving

So here I am post Thanksgiving and pre Christmas. I have been a part of various Thanksgiving celebrations and participated in a variety of traditions. It seems that most of the traditions not related to food and football have centered around some form of expressing thanks for what we have. These are often considered to be "blessings" or "gifts."
But as I came through a series of events and conversations this past Thanksgiving I became aware of a different kind of blessing. The blessing of what I do not have. So while I am blessed to have food I am also blessed to not have hunger. I have friends and do not have loneliness. But this concept is not just limited to labeling the negative or opposite of every good thing I have. Because of Jesus and His work in my life, there are things that I simply do not have that without Him I would. I do not have confusion about identity. I do not have lack of purpose. I do not have hopelessness. I do not have certain addictions and their associated pain and loss. I do not have a blown budget and the burden of debt, even if I also do not have the income and pile of toys I sometimes think would be nice.
I heard an "old timer" - which probably means I heard somebody my age only I heard them a long time ago when I was younger - talk about what God saves us from and what God saves us to. I have been reminded this holiday season that what I do not have may be as big a blessing as what I have.