Technically, grownups are supposed to teach their children and grandchildren. But sometimes I think we’re learning more from them than they are from us.
I love all six of my grandbabies. Anna and Jack are five, Ava is four, Eden and Ethan are three, and Nolan is 14-months-old. I might be a little biased, but they are too cute for words. They own me–I know it and they know it–and that’s fine with me.
One thing that always melts my heart is how much those six little cousins love each other. In every photo I have of the six of them, five-year-old Jack has his arms wrapped around his cousins.
Sometimes I get to be the recipient of that love. Fourteen-month-old Nolan has just started walking. Saturday when I kept him, he toddled across the room, laid his head on my leg and then kissed me. Priceless love–given for no particular reason.
Yesterday morning three-year-old Eden also touched me. Our oldest son (Eden’s daddy) preached, so my husband, Paul, and I went to their church. We took some snacks for the little ones. Eden was sitting on Paul’s lap when she leaned up and whispered, “Granddaddy, be sure to save a Rice Krispie treat and some Goldfish for Nolan. I want him to always have things.”
She has been crazy about her little cousin since he was born. On many occasions when everyone else is playing, she’ll sit beside Nolan, handing him his pacifier, kissing him, talking to him and giving him his dropped toys. And now she wanted to make sure that Nolan didn’t miss out on the snacks. I loved that.
Today, I shopped with three of my grandchildren and bought each of them an inexpensive toy. Anna asked if I could buy one for the cousins who weren’t there. Such amazing sweetness.
I was thinking about all of those moments and God whispered, “What if Christians loved each other with that kind of pure love?”
Can you imagine how our churches might change?
Here’s what we can learn from little children to build better relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ:
1) Love and Joy
Greet each other with love and joy. Can you imagine what that would mean to someone who is going through a tough time or to some wounded person who came to church looking for a hospital of hope?
2) Patience and Acceptance
Spend time with each other, patiently, with a desire to make life better for the other person, to make them feel welcome and part of things. Imagine what that might mean to a homeless person or a single mom who felt like she didn’t fit in?
3) Generosity
Care more about giving to others than to ourselves. What if we took the money we were going to use on something for us and bought groceries for a struggling family? Or what if we fixed a meal for a sick friend or took a turn in the nursery so a tired mom could actually sit in the church service for a change?
4) Forgiveness
Let’s love others in spite of their faults…and in spite of what they might have done to us. What if we spent more time focusing on how God has forgiven us? What if we determined that even though a person has wronged us, we are still going to treat them like Jesus would?
5) Prayer
Pray for everyone, even those who seem unlovable, even those who drive us nuts. And as we pray, God will show us a love for them.
Dear Father, teach us to love without limits like the little children do. Work in our hearts and give us a compassion for others. Help us to be shining examples of Your love as we put our faith into action. Amen.
