“I tell you the truth; anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:17 NIV) 

When a child is young he lives with great uncertainty. There is so much to learn and constantly has to accept correction. He has to learn the language, the household rules and how to deal successfully with others. Children are eager to please and to feel successful and important. But as the years go by they grow up. They seek greater control over their lives. They want to ‘know’ things.  Some develop a great passion for rules, doctrine, laws and anything which gives a firm structure to their lives.  Openness is replaced by certainty; questioning turns into knowing; eagerness becomes skepticism and easy acceptance changes into quick rejection. The child has become an adult. 

Children don’t quote scriptures to protect preconceptions. They don’t argue points of doctrine or dispute religious history. Young children aren’t very religious. Religion has to be taught to kids. This is not to say the children aren’t naturally very good and honest.  They often are; sometime even more moral than their parents. Its religion not morality which has to be taught them.

  Christ told us to believe. I think the closest word we now have to what He meant is ‘accept’.  This just makes a lot more sense to me.  I can’t just go off believing every idea and point of view that comes my way.  But I can accept them all.  Accepting to me means to allow thoughts and perspectives without judging.

  Maybe I am asking us to go to far back into childhood, but sometimes I wish we could pretend we didn’t ‘know’ so much, so that we might be able to discuss ideas and spiritual experiences without having such constant weighing of words and judging of character. Instead of approaching the scriptures as the final word from God, an attitude which blocks further inspiration, why not think of them as just an opening introduction to the Divine?

Perhaps Jesus wants us to have the same relationship with God our Father as little children do with their parents. A parent can lead a child to a religion or belief system and teach him how it works and what to believe.  But can the Holy Spirit lead us as adults in the same way? Or are we so sure of how things should be that we can’t be drawn another way? Do we ‘know’ so much now that we can’t learn anything different? As we grow up to become adults, sometimes we suffer a hardening of our attitudes and cementing of our ideas.  The mental box we live in grows smaller and becomes closed to new things.  Don’t let this happen!

Just after my mission I was told privately that the LDS Church was going to allow the Blacks to receive the priesthood. The member who told me this was a new member and I dismissed the idea as being ridiculous.  Three months later it happened.  Still later a rather whacky fellow offered me a book to read. He claimed it to be was very inspired.  Just knowing him was enough for me to reject it.  Fifteen years later I met him again and again he offered it to me.  This time I had learned not to be so prejudiced.  By the time I got done reading the first page I knew it was going to be very significant to me.  It was titled: ‘A Course In Miracles’. Though I don’t really know how; I knew it was written by Jesus. I knew that not being accepting had cost me 15 years of ignorance.  I felt so embarrassed and sad.

Children usually grow up in the same religion as their parents.  We see this happening all over the world.  It’s so common and obvious that we don’t ever question it.  But why don’t children of Hindus grow up Christian? Or children of Christian grow up to become Buddhist? Could it be that our parents help set our path when we are little? Perhaps because the ignorant humble accepting children became knowing proud rejecting adults.  I wouldn’t want us to become ignorant again but I wish we could hold on to the same attitude which served us so well in our youth as we searched for knowledge: accepting openness.

There are paradoxes to spirituality. As the scriptures say those who seek their own life will lose it; those who lose their life will find it. Here are some other paradoxes I have seen.

Those who love to be certain and knowledgable remain ignorant; while those who remain uncertain keep learning. 

Those who seek control lose it; while those who give control gain it.

Those who are mentally mature remain foolish, while those who remain open like a child become wise.