Why it’s Great to be a Child

Remember when you thought “growing up” was going to be the best thing ever? “Adulthood” represented not having to eat your vegetables, or go run errands with mom, or do your homework, or finish your chores. The dream was to grow up and become independent so you could sleep late, watch tv all day, eat pizza for every meal, and never clean your room. And there would be no need for a job –after all, those ATM’s hand out free money –right?

Of course, time changes your perspective. Maybe you’ve made a statement like ““I was so eager to grow up, and now I wish I could be a kid again” or “I didn’t know how good I had it all those years –oh to be under my parent’s care again.”

It turns out that with the achievement of adulthood comes bills, responsibilities, and pressures. Adulthood means you’ve suddenly become the center of your universe –and your universe has demands! Suddenly, childhood wasn’t so bad –in fact, it was great to just benefit from the fact that everything didn’t revolve around you.

In a larger picture, I think the church struggles with the same condition. Sometimes we get caught up in the “it’s going to be great one day when we can ______.” (you fill in the blank)

It’s tempting for churches to feel like they are always “one step away” from the “next big thing.” You know, the thing that’s going to “put them over the top” or be a “game changer.”

But what if, like reaching adulthood, a church reaches their goals only to find out they missed the mark. What if they realized “the next big thing” wasn’t all it was cracked up to be?” What if, like an adult, the suddenly realized that the church isn’t meant solely for their pleasure and that they are not the center of the universe?

In Ephesians 3:8-10, Paul says, “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.”

Paul explains that God has given him grace to preach Christ to the world for a specific purpose: “so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.”

This is very interesting. Paul doesn’t say that he preaches the gospel so that the church can grow up and achieve its long-range planning goals. In fact, the ultimate goal for the church has nothing to do with the church! Paul explains that it is so that “the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known.”

The first and foremost purpose that God has set for his church is to glorify Him. He is the center of the universe –not us.

That’s even evident in the way that Paul finishes the sentence. We might be tempted to think Paul is about to say that the purpose is for the wisdom of God to be made known “to the world.” In our tiny minds this seems so big and ultimate the way that “adulthood” seems so grand to a child.

But, if the ultimate goal for the church were to spread God’s glory to our world, the goal would be far too small. If, like a child growing into adulthood, the church ever reached the goal of reaching the world (which is a good goal), the church would suddenly realize that the goal was not as grand as they thought. There is something bigger –something more universal.

So Paul finishes the sentence by revealing God’s intention for his glory to be made know “to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” Wow –now that is huge!

These “rulers and authorities” refer to the host of angels and other heavenly beings that we can only imagine. Remember, they long to look into the mystery of God’s grace to man through Christ (I Peter 1:12). Both the angels of heaven, and the fallen angels of darkness watch God’s interaction with humans with great intrigue. We are on God’s cosmic stage with a purpose to magnify his divine righteousness and justice. (Kind of makes our little ambitions seems like child’s-play)

The ultimate goal of the church is not just to reach our tiny little planet –but instead, it is to reflect the unfathomable glory of God to the universe!  That is something  that is not possible with man, but is completely possible with God.

If this strikes you as demeaning, consider this: a universal purpose is much more important than a mere global purpose. Perhaps the most difficult truth to swallow here, however, is not the scope of God’s glory, but instead the target. Man is not the center of God’s universe: God is.

But that’s actually a good thing. Because, I suspect, if we ever found ourselves at the center of the universe, we would discover (like an adult reflecting upon childhood) that it is actually more wonderful to be under someone else’s authority, receiving the blessings of their leadership without having to bear the difficult load of being in charge.

As children of God (a term the Bible use frequently to help us recall our dependence upon His authority), we enjoy “the unsearchable riches of Christ” which Paul mentions as the great mystery, which reveals God’s glory to the universe of heavenly beings. I don’t know about you, but I like being a child of God! I love the blessings of the “unsearchable riches of Christ.” And I’m so thankful that God is in charge of them –not me!