Like a kid

Were you a jumper?

Were you the kid at the playground that jumped off the merry-go-round while it was whirling at top speed?  The kid who back flipped off the swing?  The kid who had to get on top of the monkey bars?

Did you ever have that moment where you had to just trust your dad when he said, “Jump! I’ll catch you!”  Whether it was off the monkey bars, or into the pool, there was that exhilaration you felt when you jumped out into the unknown, and the rush of security you felt when dad’s big strong hands caught your little body.

When we’re kids, we trust.  Now, I don’t know your dad, so I won’t assume anything.  However, we all had that one person in our lives that we put that absolute trust in as a kid.  If my dad said jump, I knew I could jump.  If my big brother said something was cool, it was cool with no questions asked.

Jesus spoke of this kind of truth in Mark 10:13-16.

¹³ People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

Kids trust.

There is a sense of pure wonder, love, and trust in the heart of child.  God wants this same kind of trust from us.  We can know that if our Father says, “Jump!” that He’ll catch us.  This is how we enter the Kingdom of God – not with our skills, our knowledge, our impressive contributions – but with simple child-like trust and faith.

Jesus comes to us, knowing we have nothing to offer, and offers us everything.  We respond with simple, pure faith… like a kid.