Moment Maker: You Can Live Your Life or It Will Live You by Carlos Whittaker

Author:Carlos Whittaker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2014-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

I think of when Jesus was with a group of grown-ups and a crew of kids crashed the party. I’m sure their parents were beside themselves with joy that the kids had a chance to sit at the feet of Jesus. And right when the kids sat down, here come the grumpy old deacons (cough), I mean disciples, to break up the party. It says the disciples “rebuked” them. And this wasn’t the first time the disciples rebuked the parents for bringing in kids. They did it all the time! And Jesus dropped the, what I like to call, “Heaven Is Theirs and Not Yours” bomb. He said this, “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).

Let’s sit on that for a moment. Jesus just told his disciples, the men who had dropped their nets and left their families behind to follow Christ, that they had better learn right quick from these kids so that they get a piece of heaven too.

And in Matthew 11:25 he makes it pretty clear what he thinks about who gets him the best: “At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.’ ”

I may not have banned the kids from the service, but I made almost as much of a mess of things. I was so concerned about making this moment with Sohaila just right — so concerned about making sure she did it right — that I almost blew it and robbed her of a simple moment with her Savior. Jesus knew that the uncomplicated faith of children leads to a much more honest experience than so much of the contrived worship we try to put on. His moment of pure connection with those little kids was more powerful and would have a longer-lasting impact than any grand miracle or deep sermon ever would.

I should have known better with Sohaila. I didn’t need to find the right thing to say. I didn’t need to set the stage. I didn’t need to be concerned about authenticity, sincerity, or her level of comprehension. I didn’t need to do anything more than be in the moment — with her.

After she prayed her prayer, and John Mark struck up the band exactly on cue and made me cry like a little girl, she said, “Dad, I like the happy cry. It makes me feel good.” I like the happy cry too, kid.

The importance of pausing long enough to allow a moment to unfold without forcing it — giving it breathing room to become what it will — made this a Received Moment like no other.

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