In the eyes of a child

"And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."  Matthew 18:3
 
  This week my son turns eight. The time seems to have flown by and my love has grown stronger for him. My son brings a smile to my face every day and I love to hear him rationalize things. Take this weekend for example; we took him and a couple of friends to Medieval Times in Dallas, TX. This was my son's first trip to Dallas and he was in awe at the sight of the skyscrapers aka the big buildings. When we arrived it was still daylight outside and the buildings seemed to loom over us. He lit up with excitement at the sight of the castle and once inside loved seeing all the knights and swords. He enjoyed the show and the food. He believed every detail they told him from the dragon tail soup to the bad guy being put in the dungeon for life. How easily it is for little ones to believe, and this is where adults have to come to the rescue sometimes and sometimes it's okay to let them believe. There are times the rational of our children is worrisome but once you realize they don't have the life experiences we have as adults you can begin to understand where they are coming from. After the show ended and we started our journey home my son and his friends saw the "big buildings" again but this time they were lit up. The lights were pretty and some buildings had the lights set to a timer and they changed colors or design. As we passed the big buildings my son said, “Daddy, I want to live in the city because they have pretty lights."
My husband responded, "Well....the city has good and bad things about it."
My son simply stated," I know, there are bad guys, but the city has pretty lights and that makes it okay."

My husband and I looked at each other and chuckled. As the weekend passed and I had time to reflect on the rational of my son I began to wonder what I could learn from this conversation. Are we willing to look past the murders and robberies for the pretty ligths? As adults, can we look past faults of others and bring them to Christ? We have yet to truly see pretty lights, and are often times blinded by the bad things in our life to focus on our father above. I don't know about you but I can't wait to see the place made of gold and the true source of light, but in the mean time I have to focus on the good that I can do to further the kingdom.
"Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail." Isaiah 51:6 As your schedule becomes busy with shopping and gatherings this holiday season remember we should keep our eyes on heaven. The things of this earth will vanish but the act of mercy and grace will last a lifetime. Be childlike and seek the good in all things and people. Ask God to open your eyes and ears to make you aware of the pretty things that get in your way and to look past the bad things so we can help others. Until next time may God Bless you and Keep you.
*Bible verses used from NIV Bible