Children of God

Almost every day I get a chance to head to the track before practice starts. It's fun because I get to relax and just hang out around the track before the intense workouts begin, but yesterday I got a glimpse of something that spoke to my heart. When I get to the track around 12:45 or 1 o'clock, there are gym classes still going on from Liberty Christian Academy. There are usually kids there once I get to the track because they haven't finished school for the day, but yesterday was different. When I got to the track, there wasn't just one gym class there. There were about three gym classes at once. Just a mob of little children ranging from the big 6th graders, all the way down to the small 3rd graders which one teacher told her class to watch out for because of the size difference. It would be pretty easy to lose one of those little guys or gals, or have one of them get run over. But there was something about this massive collection of children that triggered something in my head. I decided to watch just a few specific kids just to see what they were doing. And it wasn't 3 minutes when I figured out what was so awesome about all of these kids. THEY'RE KIDS! They didn't have a care in the world! They had no cares about what they learned in class that day or all of the homework they have. They were free to run around, play tag, push each other around, roll around on the floor, shoot hoops, throw dodgeball's at each other, or just sit on the floor and relax. They had one goal. By the time they left the gym, they had to release all of their energy.

It reminded me of my youthful days when I could go to game to game, sport to sport, friend house to friends house without being tired. Kid's were crashing into each other, but as soon as they got up they were back to running full throttle, weaving through 3rd graders like a professional driver. It was this energy that was so fascinating and rejuvenating. I wish I had the energy and the ability to just bounce up from a four person pile-up like these little guys. But then God put this verse in my head:

Matthew 18:2-4
"He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

As I looked at those kids, I realized that this is how I need to be. I need to "become like little children." These days it's so easy to get caught up in the future. What am I going to do with my life? Work? Money? Car? Wife? I get my so focused on the grown up parts of life that I forget to be like a child. I don't need to focus on all of those things. Yes I need to be conscious of them and have a plan, but I should be trusting that the Lord will provide me with answers to all those questions that I can't even answer until I get to that point in the road.

So here's to becoming more like children. And it's weird to say that striving to be a man of God includes becoming like a 4th grader. But i'm excited to see where that leads. Here's to becoming more like our little brothers and sisters, cousins, and neighbors!

Have a great day! =)