I heard the east parking lot filled up quickly. A little while later I heard the west-parking lot was full, too. Along the way, someone said the 1,000 hot dogs had been served and that serving ended only half way through the night’s event. Indeed the crowd was the largest I had seen at this annual outreach!
The sights and sounds were stimulating. Excitement and movement abounded. Creative costumes, colorful inflatables and common people gathered to share a safe and fun place for the children. My heart was thrilled at the show of community support. A shared goal was reached as many volunteers found their places to serve, and they served well. Their efforts were rewarded as children gathered and enjoyed all that had been prepared for them.
My place to serve was different this year. I had the opportunity to be a roaming character dressed in costume to provide information and candy. My vantage point allowed me to observe the diversity of the crowd and their behavior. Most of the children excitedly accepted candy from me, while adults watched with amusement or complete oblivion. I was intrigued as I observed some of the children excitedly retrieving hands full of sugary delights from my bucket while others cautiously took only one or two pieces. Some parents encouraged their little ones to “take only one” while others provided no guidance at all. Some children enjoyed the festivities close to the side of the adults who tended them, while others roamed about freely with their friends.
Indeed, the children were quite varied in their costumes and personalities. I especially enjoyed the priceless expressions as I looked into the faces of the children, some with brows raised in awe and wonder, and others with guarded smiles as they recognized me as a stranger. Others seemed unconcerned and focused only on the treat I had to share with them.
Yet in the midst of the large crowd and the sea of children, one stood out among them all. I offered my bucket of candy to him so he could choose what he might like. But he never raised his eyes to meet mine. He only looked into my bucket and then into his. Back and forth, he pondered for a moment. Then to my surprise, he took candy from his bucket and placed it in mine. My heart immediately melted.
His friend standing nearby told him I was offering to give candy to him, that he did not need to give me any of his. Then I heard his faint words, “I just want to be nice.” Within a moment, his inattentive adult chaperone whisked him and the others away. Her attention was elsewhere, and her inattention robbed her of the heartwarming exchange that lingered with me.
The scene replayed in my mind as I continued my trek to refill my bucket. I had stopped by the little group of children to share just a bit more when the little boy noticed that my bucket was almost empty. Rather than taking more until it was all gone, he shared from his bucket with me.
His concern was not that he gather all that he could find. Instead, he wanted to share. He had a heart to give. In that moment I was speechless, and I still have difficulty finding words to adequately describe it.
As I later recalled the moment, I was reminded of the words of Jesus:
… “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” … Matthew 19:14 niv
The key words of this simple sentence that resonated with me were children, hinder and kingdom. Our event was focused on children. And Jesus, too, focused on children. Children are young, inexperienced, still learning. We all were children at one point, some farther removed from those days than others. Yet in our walk with Jesus, some are still children, young and inexperienced. And hopefully we are all still learning.
Jesus said we should not hinder the children because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. That is, we should not make it difficult for the young and inexperienced to come to Him, whether young in years or young in soul. So what is the kingdom of heaven that belongs to the young and inexperienced?
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. Romans 14:17-18 niv
How often do we observe another and assume their spiritual age matches their earthly years? I left that outreach realizing the spiritual age of one little boy seemed to be far greater than that of many adults. So what’s your spiritual age?
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