Imagine if Jesus came to earth during our time rather than two thousand years ago. What if he came to The Festival du Voyageur? What if he came to take in the ice sculptures, go sledding or ice skating on the Red? What if he came for the festival’s famed pea soup, or tourtière and crèpes. What if he came to the ‘Snow Bar’ and bought an ice glass of Caribou?
Wouldn’t that be a huge and crazy thing for the festival? Thousands more people would flood the city. T.V. news crews, newspaper and magazine people, religious zealots as well as people of deep faith and thousands of others would simply need to satisfy their curiosity. Line ups would be insane, parking a curse and policing a nightmare.
Now imagine as this is being broadcast to the rest of the planet that a bunch of kids are blocked from getting too close and you with the rest of the planet hear Jesus say, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven…. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the ‘Red’. See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven”. (Matthew 18). Would you think he was out of line?
Would you too chastise adults for keeping the kids at bay or would you say, “they’re just doing their job! What do you expect them to do?” Would you be offended and say, “take your agenda and get out of Winnipeg!” Would he wreck the Festival? Would you be bothered by his brash approach to our politicians or be grateful that someone bothers to stand up to them? Would you feel satisfied that the church was chastised equally with everyone else? Would you be trying to get Him to come to your church on Sunday? Would you ask Him to lead an evening of worship at one of the main venues? Would you get stuck on the line, “…their angels in heaven…” and make that the main point of conversation? Would you accuse the Son of God for being too “un-Canadian”? Is it possible that you might miss the whole point? Is it possible that we are out of line?
There are lots of thoughts and feelings that distract us from the main thing and our personal perceptions of life are clouded by our own interests and ideas but none of that changes the fact that God is God. When what I think or feel or want takes precedence over God and His agenda for me then I am the one who is out of line and let me say here that I am often out of line. His request is that we change and become like “little children” not childish. When I push another out of line because my spot is more important I have missed the point. When I push Jesus out of the picture because he doesn’t fit my idea of the ways things should line up for me then I am out of line. He may seem crazy and out of line sometimes but then he is God, he can afford to be. Can you? God did not come to earth in order that my life down here would be better. He gave me life so that I could get to know Him better. The first attitude is childish the second is childlike.
Having said this I have only one final observation. Jesus knows that I would have big trouble staying in line and that I often act childish. He also knows that, spiritually speaking, I’m A.D.D. and have trouble staying in any sort of line. The apostle Paul also confessed, “when I want to do good, evil is right there with me…” but he also said, “…there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus”. (Romans 7:21; 8:1). He is the only one who can keep you and I in line.
Kasey VanderVeen