“Whoever receives one such child…”
There is a little boy in our congregation who has mistaken me for God. After I had complimented his shoes one Sunday, he told his parents the next Sunday he needed to wear those same shoes again to church “because God likes them.”
This mistaken identity has happened before, and always with little kids. It is so adorably cute. We smile to hear it and we take time to gently correct and mold a proper understanding of God and the people of God.
But sometimes I think what an astute little theologian he is at age 3. What does he see in me that causes him to see God?
Perhaps it is the same thing that I see in him that makes me think of God. Our Scriptures tell us right in the very beginning of the Bible that we are created in the image of God. (Genesis 1: 27) The image of God has been a heady topic which theologians and people of faith have been pondering and grappling with for millennia. This little boy’s comment reminds me of that phrase in Genesis giving me pause to contemplate the profound value and mystery of life and the working of God.
I know I will look forward to a time many years in the future when I can share with this little theologian how right he is to be able to see God in another person. It will be an honor to share with a budding theologian how we all need to respect and cherish that image of God in one another.
I’ll look forward to talking with him about how Jesus told us how we would see God in many people especially those to whom we may be of service. And I want to tell him in years to come how as a child, he allowed me and an entire congregation to welcome Jesus, and not only Jesus, but also the one who sent him.
Yes, I experience the presence of Christ in these wonderful children. You do too. Our children are precious to us in so many ways and also because they reveal to us something of the divine. And we can find that in Scripture too. Mark 9:36,37; Matthew 18:1-5; and Luke 9:46-48 all tell about the day Jesus was instructing the disciples on humility and service, “and he took a child, and putting him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, Jesus said to them, ‘whoever receives one such child in my name receives me….’” From the role model of Jesus we find the strongest possible reason to cherish our little ones – because God does!
Being mistaken for God and bearing the image of God as we all do carries with it a very big opportunity and responsibility. I suppose when we take this seriously, that we represent God in the world, we know that we should strive to be our best. There is actually a very old and honorable tradition of seeking to live better by imitating Christ.
I remember a Sunday dinner conversation when I was a teenager. Our family always sat together for the Sunday meal and often topics from church would come up. Our pastor had grown a beard over a summer vacation and not everyone approved of the new look in the pulpit. It was the late 1960s and some thought it was radical, others thought the beard was cool. My older sisters were divided on the topic. I added my two cents worth, “He’s just trying to look like Jesus!” To my rather sarcastic comment, my mother responded with truth I’ll never forget, “It wouldn’t hurt if more people tried to be like Jesus.”
She was so right, and how petty we all had been. How wonderful it is when people live the grace and compassion of Christ. How wonderful when we perceive Christ in our neighbor and how wonderful when we are able to be Christ for one another. You all bear the image of God – wear it with honor.
Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This month our contributor is Reverend Mark Ditmanson of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Grand Marais.
Leave a Reply