Thoughts on children

 

Mark 10:13–16

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus declares that the kingdom of God belongs to children: “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”  How so? Well, children are like stars or flowers or animals, things that are what they are, unambiguously, uncomplicatedly. They are in accord with God’s deepest intentions for them. The challenge of the spiritual life is to realize what God wants us to be and thereby come to the same simplicity and directness in our existence. To find out what is in line with the deepest grain of our being. Let me put this another way: children haven’t yet learned how to look at themselves. Why can a child immerse himself so eagerly and thoroughly in what he is doing? Because he can lose himself; because he is not looking at himself, conscious of the reactions, expectations, and approval of those around him. The best moments in life are when we lose the ego, lose ourselves in the world and just are as God wants us to be. Bishop Robert Barron