I was so much older then
I’m younger than that now – Bob Dylan
We often think of spiritual growth as getting spiritually bigger and stronger. That would make sense since it’s the meaning of the word. We even have a term we use for those who have walked with God a long time: we call them “spiritual giants.” Yet I’m not sure they, or God, would support the metaphor.
On a couple of occasions when the disciples of Jesus volunteered to shoo the children away, Jesus rebuked them and made a point of His preference for children, going as far as to say that the rest of us need to become like them if we have any desire of finding a heaven in our future.
I wonder what part of being like children he meant. Obviously he didn’t mean we were to be like children in everything, because children are naïve and foolish sometimes. Children are immature and God is pointing us all to maturity in Christ. But in some things spiritual, children have the upper hand.
The most obvious is their simple and total faith and trust in their parents, which becomes an example for us of how to trust our heavenly Father. Secondly, and not quite as obvious, is the wonder of a child. A small child is on a road of discovery and every new thing is full of delight. It does not take much to please young children because their imaginations are so active and their experiences are so new and fresh. Parents love this season. A two-dollar car will completely satisfy the desire of a four-year-old, but an eight-year-old is not going to be happy with anything less than a thirty-nine-dollar remote control Hummer.
Something else I’ve observed with my children is the ease by which they make friends. At the local sandbox, for instance, I have watched them immediately jump in with whomever is there — no introduction necessary. At an early age, there are almost always parents around, and I notice, painfully, how careful and suspicious we are of each other as we play out this little charade to determine whether or not we will introduce ourselves and bother getting into conversation. Our children have no problem with what is a difficult barrier for us, and the contrast makes our isolation even more apparent.
We were created for friendships. Our mission as representatives of the Kingdom of God on earth depends on it. We should borrow a chapter out of our children’s book and jump into the nearest sandbox.
Some guy walked up to me yesterday at the car wash and acted like we were already in a conversation, and it was no time before we were. I was taken aback at this initially until I realized he was just being friendly. Take it from the kids. We can do this if we drop our fears and suspicions and look at each person as a child of God.
John Fischer The Catch 
i like today’s Catch! For what this maybe worth: I learned how to start a fun conversation with about anybody from my Amway business, by rememebering to use: FORM, which stands for: Family, Occupation, Recreation, Message because most people enjoy talking about themselves, so gently ask them about their Family, then their Occupation, then what do they enjoy doing in their free or spare time, or their Recreation time and that leads to Message, in leave them with a message of God’s love 4 them, or just simply Make a new friend and get their name, which actually I’ve always felt should be one of the first things to ask, as in my name is Mark, as I go to shake their hand and ask what is your name? But FORM is easy thing to remember, so I can always talk to jus about anyone, very simply becauz most people like to talk about themselves when asking in a friendly way and manner..
I too like this Catch….I love to start conversations with people I don’t know. Sometimes I’m passing a person in the grocery store, and I see her/him standing trying to make a choice, and I’ll say something along the line – hard to choose with so many things… next thing ya know, I’m in a conversation… I love it!! You can learn a lot from a conversation with a stranger.. Funny thing, once you start the conversation, your no longer strangers!
When I saw the photo of the sandbox and the two chairs, I thought, if that were me in the park I would immediately move those chairs beside each other in hopes that someone would come and sit in the opposite one. I love talking to strangers!
Yes and try our best to remember their Name!
The comments so far are part of my experience as well. People generally love to talk. Today”s technology keeps us connected to those far away and disconnected from those close by but it is the up close and personal that we need as well. For adults it is the anonymity of a stranger that often makes it easy to bare our soul and talk candidly.
Children’s Ministry is one of my callings and I love the children the way John describes them here above. They often exude a faith that makes me pray to God to make me that filled with such an unabashed trust. When I tell a story of the wonder of God, their imaginations are filled by the Holy Spirit and their thoughts soar beyond my wildest imagination. Yes working with children has made me child like. Thanks for that thought John, it had been archived in my brain’s hard drive and should by in the ram where it is now. ”Wanna come and play in my sandbox was one of my kids’ favorite neighborhood invitations.
You got me to thinking…
What / where is the sandbox? And of course the answer is: Almost everywhere. There’s the office, school, store, facebook…
And how often do I turn a conversation into an argument? It’s pretty hard to build bridges when I break them before they get started.