“Uncle Randy, what if there were two Uncle Randys in the car?” Emily asked with eager eyes. She and her Uncle Randy were sitting in the back seat of her family van one Sunday while he was visiting.

“Well there could be some confusion I guess,” was his reply.

“Uncle Randy, what if there were one hundred Socks in my house?” Socks is Emily’s dog who loves to greet at the door with an over-exuberant friendliness.

“Well, it would be crowded,” he quickly replied.

“What’s crowded?”

“Cramped.”

“Well, what’s cramped?”

“Squished.” She nodded. Emily understood what squished was. And so she proceeded with her question-answer conversation. Uncle Randy was beginning to half tune out Emily hoping that the car ride would soon be over so that the questions would be forced to stop. Finally Emily took a different approach.

“Uncle Randy, what if Jesus was here? What would you do?” Surprised by this thoughtful question her Uncle Randy didn’t know what to reply. He turned the question around and asked her what she would do. Without hesitation she looked at him with her big blue eyes and said in a sincere voice, “I’d hug him.”

Later as Uncle Randy recounted this story to me I was really touched. So many times we overlook a child’s thoughts because they are young, yet we can learn so much from them! Jesus tells us, “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter in to it” (Mark 10:15).

We hear the term “child-like faith” thrown around quite a bit in exhortations, but what does that mean to us? The trust that a toddler has in his or her parents is very strong. Even those independent children who want to do everything for themselves (“No I can tie my own shoe.” “I can get my own cookie.” “I want to do it myself!”) run to their mommy or daddy when they are frightened or hurt.

Are we not the same? Even though we may not admit it, we tend to think that we can do it all by ourselves until something goes wrong. If we are upset, hurt or scared we turn to God, begging for His help and His guidance because we can’t help ourselves. And as a child will only find comfort and peace in the arms of his or her parents, we can only find peace through our own Creator.
Children have faith that every day they will have someone to take care of them, to wipe their tears and hear their excited stories of the day. If they have to be left with a baby-sitter, many wait for the return of their parents (even if it means that they don’t fall asleep until it is long past bedtime). Likewise, we are waiting for the return of our Savior. As we wait for the return of Jesus, we may be occupied by other things and not quite ready for his return. Instead of running to him and embracing him in a hug of thankfulness and love, will we fall to the floor in tears because we are too ashamed to look him in the face?

Emily’s response was so simple but said so much. She would do the same to Jesus as she would to her mother or father -- the two people whom she trusts the most. She would show him in probably the only way that she knows how that she loves him. May we do the same. Let’s show our love for our Lord not only on the day when we see him face to face but also in everything we do.
Paul instructs Timothy that “from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Jesus Christ” (II Tim. 3:15). May we receive the kingdom of God as a child would with enthusiasm and sincerity.

Miriam Styles, Milford, Michigan
October 1999