To a little child, “I have nothing and I have everything” isn’t a contradiction because everything is his or is available for him to use. Until somebody says “no” and takes it away, that ownership is simply assumed. I love that!
I love the idea that all of life is open to me –
that there is no such thing as a closed door.
A little child goes into every situation with the expectation that he will be loved. We know better (ha!) as adults. We go in with the expectation that we will be rejected or refused, so we’re guarded and the drawbridge is up. (Related Article Faith is a Law)
A child is surprised and terribly hurt when he runs into somebody that slaps him with rejection or cold indifference or cruelty. Children go into everything wide open and utterly vulnerable. And I believe that’s one reason that people rarely do say no to little children.
It is completely disarming to have someone
come at you wide open. It is so unusual.
Martha was that way with me when we first met and that is partly why she scared me to death. I thought, “Who is this person? Why isn’t she prepared? Why isn’t she guarded? Has she never met a horrible human being before?” Martha was wide open, without guile or strategy.
It was absolutely terrifying! I kept thinking, “What game is she playing?! What is going on!? I came prepared for everything BUT this!” It was devastating to my self-defenses. There’s no way to prepare for that kind of openness because it’s unpredictable.
It’s BRILLIANT that the Lord takes us back
to be little children! It’s brilliant!
Because with children, you will see even the hardest people soften. And I don’t think it’s just that they have little features and are cute as a button. I think it’s the rare and infectious exuberance that embraces each new day and person and thing as a wonder. A child experiences the full adventure of life without limitations, because he hasn’t yet built a fortress around his heart to guard against the pain of rejection and hate.
Martha was absolutely childlike in her open vulnerability. And it was piercing and disarming and discombobulating and above all incredibly memorable. She stood out. There was no forgetting her or writing her off by saying that she was just like everybody else, because she absolutely wasn’t. And I want that! I want His LIFE to be in me like that.
I want Him to put His feet down and throw His arms open
and expose His heart to whatever comes.
I want others to see and know the Living God in me.
I want that because I know what it did for me.
