Our Responsibility to Wonder
In Luke 18, Jesus was making a public appearance where some of those gathered were bringing their children to him in order to ask Jesus to give them some sort of blessing. As the story goes, the disciples rebuked these folks for bringing their children. Jesus replied,
“Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
Luke 18:16-17 ESV
Honestly, I’ve always been troubled by this verse. I have a difficult time being “childlike” most of the time in the sense of being playful or silly. It just isn’t something that comes naturally to me as someone who has a more low-key, sometimes stoic personality, but that’s always what I think of when Jesus mentions receiving the kingdom like a child. I was meditating on that challenging saying when a thought occurred to me. One thing children possess that’s so important in the kingdom is a strong sense of imagination. I realized instantly, my paradigm for childlikeness was too small. We talk all the time in sermons, in our prophetic classes, and in SoKM about how important the imagination, or the “mind’s eye”, is to God. He loves to speak to us in that place!
What stories are you telling yourself that inform what you think is true? Some believe the lie that as we grow older, imagination fades. I would argue our imaginations are never inactive. If you lift weights with poor form, you’ll inevitably injure yourself. Likewise, if you exercise your imagination with poor form, you’ll end up in bondage. Conspiracy theories, worry, and anxiety overtake and occupy the same space as the prophetic imagination you were born to use to commune with the Holy Spirit. These are inappropriate uses of imagination.
Creativity, hope, wonder, curiosity, innovation, and visioneering, on the other hand, are proper uses of imagination. Living in a chapter of history that’s often characterized by hopelessness and existential dread, the people of God absolutely have a responsibility to face injustice as it surfaces. At the same time, we have a responsibility to maintain a hopeful posture toward the future. Don’t let culture’s conspiracy-latent negativity take your inner child hostage.
Examine the things you’re imagining. Many of us obsess over obtaining the answers to life’s hard questions, but a child has an imagination that’s full of wonder and a heart posture that allows room for awe and a hopeful sense of mystery. I think that’s part of what Jesus is referring to here; embracing hope and wonder towards the kingdom from a place of childlikeness rather than the cynicism that is born out of the spirit of this age. Are you imagining grim outcomes for the people you love, your community, or humanity that are producing fear or dread inside you? If so, do the hard work of acknowledging that you are, in fact, abusing your imagination. Repent (or, change your thinking). Then, do the hard work of asking God, “how can I partner with you to become more childlike in the way I’m imagining situations and outcomes around me?”
In other words - receive the kingdom of God, his activity, rule, reign, and influence on the earth, like a child.