Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven belongs to the children. Have you ever wondered why?

One of my favorite things to do is babysit. I love little kids of all ages and enjoy spending my time with them. A few years back, I started babysitting this little boy, Dylan. I have been watching him since he was two months old (he is now 2 years old) and next week his mom is going back to work after maternity leave and I will watch him and his one month old sister. A couple of months ago, he taught me one of the greatest lessons I have ever learned.

One of Dylan's favorite things to do when I come over is play Jumpy Jump. For those of you who don't know what that is, that's when Dylan and "Jenn" go up to Dylan's room and jump on the bed. Every time we do this, I am reminded of the line from the story "No more monkeys jumping on the bed". That's what I feel like when we bounce from one bed to the other. On a cold day last fall, Dylan and I (mostly me) decided that it was to cold to go outside. So off to play Jumpy Jump we went. While jumping around he toppled over and bonked his head on the floor. I waited to see what he would do. Instead of crying, he started laughing uncontrollably. It was the cutest thing EVER!


I pondered later that night how innocent his laugh sounded, how silly it was that just jumping an a bed could make him so happy, and how odd it was that just bonking his head on the floor set him into a fit of laughing. When I was that age, I am sure I acted like him at times. Now, at 18 years old (almost 19) I can't imagine spending my free time jumping on a bed. Most the time my laughter is forced, and when I hit my head, it hurts. So what changed? That innocence was taken away. I learned that the real world isn't as nice to you when you get "old" as it is when you are a young child.


I think when Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven belonged to the children He meant the innocent. It's not that He won't let me in now that I am an adult. It's just that I must have a heart like a child's. An innocent, pure, happy one that enjoys jumping on the bed and attack the babysitter while pretending to be the Tickle Monster. We have to enjoy the life we are given and make the most of it. We have to find our inner child again.