Don’t Grow Up
If you know me, you know I love movies. I enjoy sitting down and allowing my ever so active brain to turn off for a few hours while I am entertained. Recently, I decided to watch a film I hadn’t seen since I was a young girl. I wanted to watch the movie Hook, with Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman.
Hook is the story of Peter Pan all grown up. Peter Pan has grown up into a married man with children and he cannot remember ever being in Neverland.
Then the nefarious Captain Hook kidnaps his children and Peter is thrown back into Neverland to face his greatest foe if he is ever to get them back. The only problem is he cannot remember who he is. Pan is returned to Neverland by his faithful companion, Tinker Bell, where he must strive to remember who he is and the power within himself. His adventures with Tink and the Lost Boys return him to his true self and he is able to vanquish his enemy in the battle for his children.
As I watched the film, Holy Spirit began to speak to me and prompting me to pay attention.
There is a scene in the film when the Lost Boys and Peter have sat down to dinner. Peter cannot wait to eat after a hard day of trying to fly. To his disappointment, when he sits down to eat, he discovers all of the pots and pans that should contain food are empty. However, all of the boys around him are grabbing “food” and biting into the delicious meal before them. Peter is confounded as he watches all of the boys eat this imaginary meal. The boys encourage him to eat, and eventually begin to pick on him.
As the scene progresses, the joking escalates and eventually Peter pretends to throw food onto the face of the boy across the table from him. To his surprise, colorful pudding actually hits the boy in the face! Pan looks at the table before him, and there is a great banquet set. Hot rolls, meat, drinks, and sweets cover the table. Peter is amazed to see that the food had been there all along, but because he was too grown up to pretend, he had missed it.
As I watched this scene unfold before me Matthew 18:2-4 came to mind:
“Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.’”
The scene had demonstrated this concept beautifully. How many of us are sitting at an incredible banquet that has been set out for us, but we cannot see it because we have “grown up”? We think we know everything and how it works, therefore, there cannot be food on the platters in front of us.
However, God has called us to childlike faith. He has called us to only believe. When we believe in who we are in Christ, nothing is impossible for us.
In the film, when Peter Pan came to realize who he was and believed it was who he was, he was able to fly again. He was no longer afraid of Captain Hook because he believed he was capable of defeating him. His childlike faith gave him the confidence he needed to rescue his children.
When we realize who we are and where we are seated, we become fearless. Paul told us that we are seated with Jesus in heavenly places. There is a banquet set out before us, and we only need to believe in order to partake in it. When we have the childlike faith to believe, nothing is too big for us. We have a King who has already defeated our enemy. If we walk in the belief that what our Father said is true, when we face our enemy, we will do so with the confidence of one who has already won.
We are already victorious, but do we actually believe our Father? Are we going to miss out on the bountiful feast before us because we already know everything and we are just too mature to believe something can come from nothing? This is the faith Jesus is calling us to. He wants us to just take Him at His Word the way a child simply believes because there is no reason that they wouldn’t. When God speaks, it is always truth and it is always life.
What would it take for us to become like a little child? What are little children like? Before I moved to the Philippines, I worked in a preschool teaching a classroom of fifteen three year olds. It was an incredible learning experience as each day.I interacted with children who were innocent and full of life. The children I taught were always curious, asking questions because of their desire to learn. Anything I told them, they believed. This led to me being very cautious about what I said to them. They never forgot the things I told them, and my words mattered very much. All of my children were full of joy, an energy that fascinated me. I often asked them where their energy came from so I could get some too, and they would giggle and say, “I don’t know Miss Chelsea!”
Being childlike means we are teachable in every aspect of our lives. We realize we do not know everything and every person and situation we come across has the ability to teach us something. Faith like a child means that everything that comes from the mouth of God is absolutely true even if it doesn’t seem like it. If God tells me He is faithful, He is faithful regardless of what my circumstances tell me. Being like a child means walking in joy and awe. Being in awe of God is a remarkable trait that keeps us submitted to His greatness and in the humility that we are not Him.
Childlike faith is how we inherit the Kingdom Jesus brought to us. It may not always look like His Kingdom is here, but He told me it was, and I trust Him. His Kingdom is here and now, and I don’t want to miss the incredible banquet set out right in front of me because I’m too grown up to see it.
How about you? How can you become more childlike? Will you join me in unleashing my inner child? It’s gonna be fun! Leave a comment below and tell me how you can be more childlike in your faith.
