Infant Praise

                If you have spent much time around children, you know that sometimes they have trouble knowing when to stop. I have often heard children repeat a funny line in a movie to see if they can get another laugh, but they have a hard time just repeating it once. After repeating it ten times, maybe they will put the line to rest. Children often think that if one piece of candy is good, then 100 would be better! No matter how many tummy aches you may get, it is still hard not to have just one more gummy-bear. 

                This morning my husband and I read Matthew 21 that describes Jesus riding through Jerusalem on a donkey. This was only a week before Jesus died and all the people in the town called out “Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna to the son of David!” The people of the town believed Jesus to be a prophet that would rescue them from the rule of the Romans. After He had finished His ride through town, Jesus went about doing what He always did. For the second time, He threw a bunch of vendors out of the Temple and healed the blind and the lame, but the children were still saying, “Hosanna to the son of David!” When the religious people of the day heard this, they were upset. Jesus responded to them by saying, “Have you never read: You have prepared praise from the mouths of children and nursing infants?”

                I can just imagine the children in Jesus’ day going around repeating what their parents had been saying, “Hosanna! Hosanna to the son of David!” As adults of the time rolled their eyes, the children would continue until their hearts content. I cannot help but wonder if we lost a little something when we decided to “grow up” and became less persistent about Christ. As adults, it is silly to keep that praise going forever because we have to get back to our lives. It is silly to keep praying because we need to move on to other things. It would be silly for us adults to keep pursuing faith; once you have faith, you can stop pursing it. Yet Jesus does not condemn the children for their persistence but says that it was prepared by God for Him.

                Have I stopped pursing God because I think I am close enough to Him? Have I stopped learning about Scripture because I think I know enough? Have I stopped praising God because I think I have praised Him enough?

                God, please help me to seek You with the faith of a child that does not know when to quit. Let me never stop growing closer to You as time goes on. Be with my child as he grows and give him and undying passion for You. Amen.