THE WIDE-EYED IMAGINATION OF A CHILD

Children are the fascination of the world.  Indeed, they also seem to be the most fascinated.  One easily finds Jesus in their corner when he spoke, Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to me, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

Why?

What is this mystique about a child that seems to draw even Jesus' defense?

There is a valuable characteristic of a child that increasing age seems to unintentionally sand off the effective edges.  Think about it with me.  What is one of the earlier-year trademarks of Johnny or Samantha?  They ask questions!  Often, momma feels, too many questions.

Herein lies a possible treasure that our maturing process lets slip away; the ability (even hunger) to inquire.  In Warren Berger's A More Beautiful Question, a staggering note from the publisher is logged within the inside cover flap.

Berger's surprising findings reveal that even though children start out asking hundreds of questions a day, questioning "falls off the cliff" as kids enter school.  In an education and business culture devised to reward rote answers over challenging inquiry, questioning isn't encouraged--and is, in fact, sometimes barely tolerated.

Questioning falls of the cliff as they enter the education process and then more so entering the business world?  Does this not strike you as profoundly backwards?

God is constantly pulling us to the new.  We are called to be born again.  We are to be found new day by day.  The call is consistent.  The call cannot be ignored for this newness is to be framed within the flexible, questioning mindset...of a child.  Again Jesus remarks, Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Berger's findings offer a very strange and perplexing matter.  At the point of education the information mind increases as the imaginative mind decreases.  This is disturbing. When we quit asking, we decrease our interaction with as well as dependence upon God. Over time we gradually begin to develop understanding over mystery, control over the unknown, and a building of ego over an exploration of what has yet to be discovered.

The wide-eyed imagination of a child goes on in some laboratories and research centers.  It does not seem to be as welcomed in the very place where it should be the trademark; the church.

Our beloved Restoration Movement was hijacked decades ago.  While it began as a restoration of the things of God centered upon the thrill of the Word of God, it soon sank into an anemic Preservation Movement where sluggish traditions and mortal fears increasing hover to this day.

No, I'm not pushing for entry of more aggressive women's roles, different kinds of music, improved views of gays (which will always call for our loving consideration). These are not in the ballpark of my immediate concerns.  I'm talking about becoming more of a church that is what God has in mind than what history has handed down.

And what are we expected to do with this information?  It might be a blessing to the world and to ourselves if we increasingly become as children in the church Jesus is building by asking a lot more questions about why we believe what we believe where we believe.

I'm crazy about being in the church.  I love it.  I eat, drink, sleep it.  It is within this outlandishly wonderful entity that I still find the call of God to be what it has always been; the impossibles becoming possibles.  The only way we are going to hit upon these next wonders.....is to have the wide-eyed imagination of a child....so it seems that Jesus clearly asserts.