Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Worship in the Child's Pew


Tuesday, June 12, 2018
One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them.  But when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him.  Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me.  Don’t stop them!  For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.  I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”  Luke 18:15-17(NLT)
One of the delights of being a pastor is watching the children develop into worshippers.  If you pay attention at the end of a service, a child will come up to the pastor, or someone else in the congregation and deliver a masterpiece of a drawing made during a sermon.  I’ve been the recipient of many such wonderful drawings. 
One of the little preschool girls in our church is into taking sermon notes right now.  I suspect her wise parents would not think of coming to church without blank paper and crayons.  This past Sunday this aspiring artist treated me to what was on her mind during my sermon on Jesus’ confrontation with the Pharisees, and Jesus dealing with his own family thinking he’d lost his mind.  Miss Hadley Jane was thinking about decorating Christmas trees.
Now I’m no mind-reader, but you don’t need a PhD for this one; this little one loves Christmas and all the joy of that season.  It’s 90 degrees in North Carolina this time of year, but this (almost) 5-year-old is ready to string some lights and deck those halls!
I haven’t had time to have Hadley’s artwork interpreted by the artisan guild yet, but what struck me about this particular drawing was the prominence of the three main characters.  I’m assuming that’s Daddy at the top of the ladder, and Mommy with Hadley Jane below at the decoration box.  Now it may be a decoration box…or perhaps a manger; last year at Christmas, little brother Connor was only three months old!  What’s unmistakable is the smiles that tell us it’s a happy time. 
What I almost missed are the ten other people in this picture.  They are drawn with yellow and light green…so background-like, nearly invisible.  But when I scanned the picture to display it here, the scanner made the other decorators more prominent.  And, on every face, a Christmas smile!  Through the artistic eyes of a worshipping child in the pew this past Sunday we are treated to the bedrock truth of the Gospel; the message of Christ is joy to the world!
You’ve got to keep your eyes wide open and listen as much with your heart as your ears, but the heart of a child, fresh from being created with the image of God, and not nearly enough time to sin-away that image, will always reveal something about being connected to our Creator that you need to hear.  I’m glad I didn’t miss church this past Sunday; I would have missed an important meeting with Jesus through the eyes of one of His special little worshippers.  Guess I’m going to have to be on my toes to see as high as she does.
For You Today
When you drove to church this past Sunday…or any Sunday…was it with the hope that you just might meet Jesus there in some other, less boring way than you expected?
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day. 

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[1] Title Image:  Drawing used with permission


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