When Are You Going To Grow Up?

In the gospel of St. Matthew we read: At that time, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 18:1-3) Christ was never one to mince words; this is an imperative - our conversion.  Have you ever wondered: what are these childlike qualities He has in mind?  Well, what are the things we most admire in the young?  Here’s what immediately springs to my mind: simplicity, innocence, optimism, obedience.  Awe and wonder.  Faith.

How about "maturity"?

Probably just about the last quality you think of when considering a child, right?  But we probably all know a few adults that by their behavior cause us to reflect that “maturity may or may not come at any age” or a few children that seem to be “wise beyond their years.”  Consider that the truest measures of maturity may be in how well the virtues of hope and trust are manifested. For by these virtues, grounded in humility, we come upon the realization of who we really are, emotionally and relationally - that complete surety of self.

Satan’s greatest ruse was to convince man that he can ‘go it alone’, that he is ultimately in control over his own destiny and has no need of God’s grace.  Little children know this to be a lie.  They know they are dependent on loving parents for the roof over their heads and the clothes on their backs and the food on their tables.  That dependence doesn’t change as we grow older - just the perspective on the provider.  Pride and lack of faith cloud our vision making us feel ‘in control’, invincible - the clay ignores the potter.  How we need then that maturity of childhood!

I am reminded of my own children, in those brave and exploratory toddler years, when they’d boldly scale the living room furniture or kitchen cupboards and much to their mother’s dismay, hold out their arms and excitedly plead: “Catch me, daddy!”  Without further thought, they’d close their eyes, smile, and launch themselves into the air.  Afterwards I’d hold them close and tell them how brave they were and how lucky they were that I was there – but they knew, they just knew I’d catch them, because that’s what daddies do.  Christian maturity comes only when we take a similar leap of faith, when we learn to trust and abandon ourselves in the arms of our loving Father.  We’re never too old.  God can bring about that conversion in us.

As a child of God, I recall that I am made from a mere handful of clay and as such am nothing and can do nothing in and of myself.  But through him, with him, and in him - in the hands of the potter - I can be and can do anything.  So with total confidence I ask for his help and guidance throughout the day and am assured by virtue of His unlimited goodness, kindness, and generosity, I’ll receive everything I ask for in the order of nature and grace, and can expect everything in the order of glory. (See Mt 6:25-34)  Notice the correlation here: the very knowledge of God that raises us up, at the same time humbles us by the comparison of ourselves with God.  As we grow in this realization, as we get to know the Father (and thereby ourselves) better, we regain the security and the joy of childhood.

“O God of wisdom and of love, you have made us fragile as the flowers of the field, yet you have made us strong in the hope of life everlasting.”

Prayer, far from being mundane and spiritless, becomes the trusting conversation between child and Father, who understands the needs of his children and is interested in everything about them.  We ask Our Father to “give us this day our daily bread” – everything we need to sustain us – each day, like little children, “as we wait in joyful hope.”  Even penance and chastisement, when looked upon through the eyes of a child of God, take on supernatural significance.  Jesus suffered to carry out his Father’s will.  So can we, who also want to carry out our Father’s will, complain when we find suffering along the way?  “That will be a sure sign of my filiation, because God treats me as he treated his own divine son.”  (The Way of the Cross, by St. Josemaria Escriva)

We're all familiar with Psalm 23.  Our lives are not those of cowardly subservience, ignorance, or gullibility, but dignity, joy, peace, security, and fulfillment for all eternity as children of God.  "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future filled with hope." (Jer 29:11)