All God's Little Ones

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

- Matthew 19:14

And Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

- Matthew 18:13

I work with a man who loves to greet everyone who crosses his path. There's days when I feel that I've met and been introduced to the entire multicultural city of Calgary, crossing lines of cultural, ethnic, generational, religious and gender barriers.  Like a child, he doesn't interpret people by the way that they look, he reads their hearts. 

To be honest, I don't always appreciate being thrust into the public spotlight and at times I inwardly cringe as he makes his rounds through a crowded train or a busy shopping centre, and yes, he is growing to learn proper social boundaries, respecting other's personal space. 

Yet, I can't deny the positive influence he has on the hundreds of strangers he connects with daily. People's stunned reactions to my client's intrusive friendliness never cease to amuse me. A typical conversation might run something like this at the top of his lungs:

Client: Good Morning (actually, it's 2PM)

Stranger: Huh? Oh. Hi.

Client: How are you today?

Stranger: Um...I'm okay. How are you?

Client: Good! And you?

Stranger: Uh, yes...I'm still good, thank you for asking. Again.

Client: Have a good day now. God bless you!

Stranger: And you too!

In between formalities he might include some personal information pressing on his mind that day; a hockey game, a death of a relative years ago, his plans for the weekend, and of course, he'll be sure to introduce me as well so that we don't depart as strangers. So profoundly simple: In an increasingly privatized world of isolation, where next-door neighbours no longer even know each other's names, there's something refreshing about his childlike lack of inhibitions and openness. So very simple, and yet his common sense is regrettably uncommon. 

Very rarely, does his unassuming friendliness cause offense, and he often intuitively senses when he is violating other's boundaries and will turn his attention to another willing listener. Quite the contrary actually, most people welcome the non-threatening exchange of pleasantries and the exposure into his open heart. As self-protective and guarded as the human condition is, people are surprisingly receptive to the openness of his spirit. So often I've seen a downcast face and heavy heart turn into a wonder-invoking smile and lightheartedness after a refreshingly simple conversation. Somehow, his good neighbourliness serves to bless, encourage and welcome people into God's inviting presence.

Jesus reprimanded his disciples for preventing the children of entering into his loving embrace, as children in that age were dismissed as a "waste of time". I'm learning that God often is "wasteful",  and I wonder how often I block God's extravagant love among His little ones?

Unless we become like a child...I wonder what the world would look like if we all shared his childlike gift of friendliness, and vulnerably risked opening our hearts to our neighbours?