“Would ye learn the road to Laughtertown,
O ye who have lost the way?
Would ye have young heart though your hair be gray?
Go learn from a little child each day.
Go serve his wants and play his play,
And catch the lilt of his laughter gay,
And follow his dancing feet as they stray;
For he knows the road to Laughtertown,
O ye who have lost the way!”
– Katherine D. Blake (Leaves of Gold, pg. 88)
There are two claims of the Christian faith that would seem to create a paradox. First is the claim that we are to grow into maturity. Jesus said to “be perfect (i.e. mature, complete) as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The second is the claim that we must become like children. Jesus said, “unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). To find unity within these claims, we need to understand something that seems fairly obvious. My simple way of stating it is this: growing up doesn’t mean abandoning child-like qualities.
Jesus’ contemporaries would not have had difficulty with this idea. In his teaching from Matthew 18, Jesus is addressing the need for humility, something easily lost once we become accomplished, smart, influential adults. Being child like can describe a person who is willing to have faith rather than always looking for reasons to doubt. I have often said there is a big difference between being child-like and being childish. It may sound like a simple play on words, but the implications are clear and significant. Jesus definitely calls us to the first, not the second.
Back to Laughtertown. I can already hear the objections. “Oh, pastor, how great it would be to be a child again, care free with no responsibilities. Too bad my obligations will not allow that!” Around my home, we call it “adulting.” Yes, sometimes it stinks, but we have to do it anyway. The perspective we seek here can be found in a familiar scripture passage. Luke 10:38-42 tells us of two women: Mary and Martha. Martha is “adulting,” while Mary is listening to Jesus. To paraphrase the brief conversation, Martha points to Mary and says, “Do you see what a slacker my sister is? She should be adulting right now.” Jesus responds to Martha by saying, “How good it would be for you if you would choose the same.” Martha was worried about dinner. Mary was pursuing the Kingdom.
The Kingdom: joy, shalom, goodness, sabbath—laughter. If these are not regular dynamics of daily life, could it be that we are missing the Kingdom? I’m not suggesting that your ticket to eternity has been invalidated. I am offering the idea that the beauty of the Kingdom is ours to enjoy now. If we aren’t experiencing it, perhaps we have lost our way amid all of our adulting. And if that’s the case, the children may help point the way back.
See you along the Winding Path.
The Winding Path 