Luke 18:17 | Entering The Kingdom
Today I was driving to work and noticed a kid all bundled up in his coat, hat, and gloves standing on the street corner. He was probably around seven years old. This kid was in his own world. Driving past him, I witnessed his unmistakable swagger as he was moving and dancing to some groove in his imagination.
Who knows what sparked the inspiration to bundle up, head outside, and dance on the corner of a busy neighborhood street? This kid’s world was utterly consumed by the story he was playing in his head. I realized that one day he would lose this freedom and inhibition. One day, he might feel too self-conscious and insecure to dance like that on the street corner, which would be the day he stopped being a kid.
Of course, we need to mature and grow, but I was drawn to the contrast of this moment. As I hustled to my office to write today’s devotional, he happily danced away the day. I think the kingdom of God is more like this kid dancing on the street corner unawares than me rushing to work. Jesus spoke to this in Luke 18:17 ESV, saying, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
Do we take ourselves too seriously? How many moments of kingdom opportunity do we overlook because we have “more important things to do” than stand around and play? Yet as I ponder the nature of the kingdom, I begin to see that there seems to be room for innocent play than solemn duty. I’m not saying the way of the kingdom of God is a matter to take lightly. But what does it say about the realities of heaven if children have first-rate access and rich people can hardly make it through the door?
If a child dancing on the street corner already has everything they need to enter God’s kingdom, why do we think we need to grow up and strive toward acceptance? Kids get to enter the kingdom freely because, in the kingdom of God, the Father supplies everything we need, freedom is fully available in the Spirit, and restoration is found in the name of Jesus. How odd is it to try to earn our way into an all-expenses-paid invitation?
I find that my toughest spiritual journey is not what I can achieve but what I must undo. What I deem the highest religious ideals might be barring me from entering the eternal kingdom of God. Today as you seek to abide in God’s presence, I wonder if you hear the invitation to let go and become more like a child. Perhaps the invitation of the Spirit is to take yourself a little less seriously and let some joy, freedom, and imagination trickle back into your faith. Remember that we don’t enter the kingdom because we earned it but because the Father scooped us up on his shoulder and joyfully carried us home.
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