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The Kingdom of Heaven Belongs to Them
Series: The Gospel of MarkKids Say the Darndest Things
Those of you who are older may remember a segment to Art Linkletter’s show where he interviewed school children on different topics to see what their responses were. Of course, asking any child what they think of things like parenting, politics, religion, or any other serious topic is guaranteed to be amusing. The segment was so popular it ran for 27 years and eventually became its own show in the late 1990s entitled, “Kids Say the Darndest Things.”
Kids do say some funny things. Abby and I are always amused at our own children’s responses to different events. Their perspective on life, what’s important, and what is fun are so valuable to us as adults. As we age, we become more sober minded. We lose our ability to imagine, our faith in something bigger than ourselves, and our ability to enjoy the simple things in life. I believe this is why God has us raise children. They are constantly calling us back to life as it should be: simple, fun, and full of things to discover and enjoy. Maybe this is why Jesus said, “Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 18:3)
The next time you’re exasperated by something your child or grandchild does or says, remind yourself of the command to be like them. There may be something in what they are doing that is more Godly than we realize.
-Scott McFarland