Mark 10:13-22 (NRSV)

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them.  But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.  Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’  And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. 

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.” ’ He said to him, ‘Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.’ Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?  What a sharp contrast between the rich man and people bringing little children to him.  Jesus says, we must receive the kingdom of God as a little child, but what does that mean?  I don’t think it means that we need to be naive, but I do feel that we need to have a certain vulnerability and innocence about us.

Those of us that work with and around children and those of us that have children know that children are trusting and curious…  they ask questions, and they like to be involved and respected…  Children have worth and an insightful brilliance that our clouded minds lack.  So what this says to me is that our approach of God needs to me one of emptying ourselves, and making ourselves vulnerable before God.  We open our lives up to God to let God do God’s best work within us.

The man who comes to Jesus with an inquiring mind is a keeper of the law.  He is half way there, but he needs to not be bound by earthly things.  The scripture says he has many possessions, and that he grieves because Jesus tells him to let go of his stuff.  I don’t think that money and possessions are not bad or evil.  It’s how we use the money and possessions that either makes it a vehicle to or a barrier from God.  What we do with our money is an expression of our faith (or lack thereof).

Therefore, for me, the sharp contrast of the stories goes away.  Children don’t have worries over money like adults do.  They learn about possessions and value by their parents and other adults.  It makes me think, “what are we teaching our children by the way we use our money?”  In order to be as a little child, the rich man needs to give up the barrier between him and God.

To me, the text is an invitation to us to look at our lives and start to remove the barriers between us and God.  It doesn’t matter if it’s money or possessions, priority of activities, the ways we participate, etc…  if it affects our relationship with God, it needs to be dealt with.  Does the way we live our life express our faith?