child |CHīld|noun ( pl. children |ˈCHildrən| )a young human being below the age of puberty or below the legal age ofmajority.• a son or daughter of any age.• an immature or irresponsible person: she's such a child!• a person who has little or no experience in a particular area: he's a child in financial matters.• (children) the descendants of a family or people: the children of Abraham.• (child of) a person or thing influenced by a specified environment: a child of the sixties | OPEC was in a sense a child of the Cold War.
I would love to hear response to these definitions from those that work closely with children. My children, any chidden… I have been involved in some extent of childcare for the last 17 years of my life. If you want we can go back to my earliest memories of rocking mysister back to sleep often, if we count that it's been almost 23 years. Whichever is more accurate I can tell you there has always been a nagging question: Are they (we) valuable?
I know every canned answer but the more moving is the "actual value" given a child. I some countries a child is either valuable or useless depending on the amount of labor you can get out of them. From hard manual labor, to factory work, to working the streets begging or selling their bodies… each of these children's "owners" could give you an accurate monetary description of their value. In a less harsh reality we can look at areas where a child's value is not determined by services rendered,But rather in respect or how many hassles they provide a parent. The over all question remains: are they valuable?
Because of who I am I am going to see what Jesus said. There is a moving story in the gospels that we are so aware of it becomes Sunday School bland. I'm going to liven it up a bit… and I'll use my children because they are NOT calm docile children like in the picture books.
Once there was a famous man, he was powerful and awesome and everyone wanted a piece of him. Paparazzi were constantly crowding him and he needed 12 bodyguards!! Even so his entire goal was touching the people around him, making his body guards a frustrated group in the least. One day specifically Jesus spent all day at a HUGE conference. THEN he made time for question and answer! After all that Esther and Simeon Kline came running up onto the stage. Esther almost strangling the smallish Asher who couldn't quite keep up, but she desperately wanted to be included in meeting JESUS! (Renah had tripped over someone's abandoned crutch and was floundering in a sea of people trying to catch up) No worries, the body guards were there. they closed in a tight group, denying access to the man of the hour while allowing him to continue answering the NET or Gross Question of "How much is 10%?" Interrupting the questions, Jesus stands… creating a huge stir. He doesn't excuse himself or apologize. Instead he nudges his way through the wall of backs, swings Asher up onto his back. grabs both Esther and Sim by the hand,leads tumbly- interruptus up on the stage and asks Simeon… "What do you think about that question?" Honest Sim, "i dunno"… no worries Esther is here with her love of a mic and Jesus gives her full range. No there is no deep profound message delivered she probably tells a story about chasing boys at school. After Q and A… Jesus doesn't go home with the pastor… he goes to the park.
Now we can all easily see that these children were encouraged in being rebellious, they were distracting and worst of all WHAT ABOUT THE 10% QUESTION!!??
What really happened? These children in a moment had an encounter where they knew they mattered. They will take this encounter every where they go for the rest off there lives. They didn't receive a "one liner" to spit out and look important. They got to see Jesus, and because of that they will want to become like him!! In truth the bible states that Jesus wasn't laid back with his bodyguards, he was pissed. Why?? Because Jesus knows if we stop new life, new growth, the messy stuff , the children, his message is already dead. Jesus wants the dirty people. He provides the showers. Too often we are so worried about being clean before we show up, we forget there is no running water without him and that the best we can do is cover our smell.
Children can usually care less how they smell, they care how YOU smell(: They will run straight to Jesus and he can wash there sticky fingers or not…
Are ChildrenValuable? Priceless. Why? Because no matter if it's my best day or my worst, a fat or thin day, I need to see that. TO see that value has nothing to do with 'sound doctrine' even less, "what can you give me" It's in the person. Asher need only throw back his head and giggle and mommy will keep him up 15 minutes past bedtime making puppy faces and blowing raspberries. That is my Jesus. He looks more like that dirty kid at the park than me any day… and I want to be like him….
Beautiful <3
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