The Summer of 76

It was a warm sunny day in early July, 1976. I was sitting in our almost new forest green American Motors Sportabout station wagon with our three children. Tami was seven years old, Jeremy four and Jess was 18 months of age. Our small station wagon was packed to the rafters with everything required to survive yet another summer in a university residence apartment. We had repeated this summer adventure for the previous six years. The number of dependents kept growing throughout those years. Lozanne returned to the car, after receiving laboratory results, to announce with her usual good humour that the next summer there would be four young ones in the car, should we choose to go to summer school again. I immediately tried to imagine where the fourth would fit into our present vehicle and drew a blank. Strangely enough, Josh fit in just fine the following summer.

We proceeded to drive the distance to Laurentian University where my principal’s certificate awaited after six weeks of classes. The weather that summer was very wet and cool. There were other young families present in the residence as well. The kids had the run of the campus and enjoyed a great summer. I will always remember young children and toddlers running joyfully through the library making just a little too much noise. No one, including the librarian, seemed to notice or care. It was the summer of the 1976 Montreal Olympics and the Russian athletes were sequestered at Laurentian University and were often seen working out on the outdoor track and fields nearby. The USSR was very communist at the time and there was always the fear that some of their athletes may try to defect. We often walked the kids down to the track facility to watch the amazing athletic ability of the Olympic competitors. We were very welcome to do so…from a distance. I don’t know whether to call them KGB agents, security police or just bodyguards, but there was definitely a rather menacing line of them to stop any adult from approaching the athletes. When the action had slowed down; however, small children were allowed to mingle amongst the friendly young Russian competitors. On several occasions we watched the kids interact on the field with the athletes while we adults in turn were watched equally as carefully.

As I remember these events, I am reminded of a scene in the Bible where children were initially not welcomed but turned back. This description is found in the Book of Mark 10: 13-16.

13 ¶ Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.
15 "Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."
16 And He took them up in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them.

Jesus was not happy at all with His disciples for not allowing the little children to come to him. Their parents had, in faith, brought the children to Jesus so that he could bless them. Jesus then tells us one of the great truths of His good news. In order to enter into the kingdom of God, we all, no matter our age, must receive our salvation with the innocence, wonder and awe of a child. I have also realized through this scripture selection this morning the importance of allowing children exposure to Jesus while their minds are so ready to learn and receive the great truths of the gospel. There is an admonition to all parents within this selection. Jesus is telling us of the importance of introducing the wonders of the gospel to children from the earliest possible moment. Verse 16 is one of the most beautifully descriptive snapshots in the Bible. What a blessing those children received!

(Comments, corrections, suggestions or rebuttals are welcome. My email link is contained in “About me: view my complete profile” to the right of this page or use the comment section below which requires that you have a Google account.)

As A Little Child

There can be no doubt that no generation that has lived on this earth has seen the extreme technological changes to this world that the last two generations have witnessed. As I sit outside with my laptop on this beautiful sunny morning connected to the whole world through a satellite driven wireless internet connection, my mind is taken back to a very vivid memory from my early childhood. I had just received a very bad haircut. I was not happy with the enthusiasm of the barber. After offering heartfelt positive assurances, my mother sent me outside to have the damage assessed by a very objective and unbiased friend of mine.

My good friend’s name was Pearl. I visited with her daily. She was the beautiful, gentle and very large horse that pulled the milk wagon down our street each and every morning. She would move automatically from house to house while the milkman delivered to each house. She simply understood that as he returned to the enclosed wagon that she was to move forward to the next driveway or walkway. There, right in front of her, I stood displaying my hated haircut. I even turned in a circle so that Pearl could see all of the damage. She calmly assessed my haircut and gave it a positive blink of her large brown eyes partially covered by the blinders used to keep her attention focused on her job and not the moving motorized traffic in the street. I felt in a very real sense her approval of the haircut and was immediately comforted.

I had displayed the unwavering faith of a very young child. I believed that Pearl understood why I was standing there. I believed that she cared that I was standing there. I believed that she was my good friend. I believed that indeed she understood my plight and was giving her approval to my haircut. As I look back, I am amused of course with the naiveté of that young child. In a few short years, maybe even months, such faith would be shattered by maturity and the world.

Yet it is that very kind of faith and belief that Jesus speaks about in Mark 10: 13-16.

13 ¶ Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.
15 "Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."
16 And He took them up in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them.

Are you close to accepting the Lord Jesus as your saviour? Are you filled with intellectual doubts? Are you filled with the doubts expressed by others in this world? Are you counting the costs? Although you want to accept Him, are you unable to make the leap of faith? The secret to the exercise is well known to us who have become Christians late in life. You can read the Bible, you can read commentaries and you can listen to convincing speakers in person or on television, but in the end, it all comes down to the childlike leap of faith. Once it is made, you can never go back and indeed you have no desire to do so. Once the Holy Spirit is within you, there is ample time and opportunity to research, to learn, to test the beliefs and indeed to intellectualize about your faith. All the intellectual pursuits will only lead you back to one reality…childlike faith is required for the first step. Jesus asks that you take it today.

(Comments, corrections, suggestions or rebuttals are welcome. My email link is contained in “About me: view my complete profile” to the right of this page or use the comment section below which requires that you have a Google account.)