You Need A Little One
Children are just people in the process of getting older, vulnerable people learning to be human. -A.S. Byatt
When it came time for Jesus to ‘get real’ and showcase his ideal model of faith, he didn’t turn to a scholar or religious leader…he turned to a young woman named Rhoda.
A Rhoda keeps you light
A Rhoda keeps you small
A Rhoda keeps you snug
A Rhoda keeps you alive
Rhoda was a doorkeeper in the house of Mary in Jerusalem. During a lengthy prayer vigil, Rhoda got up to answer the door – and there was Peter, unexpectedly and supernaturally freed from jail! She got so excited, she forget to let him in and instead ran to tell her companions that their prayers had been answered.
They, however, didn’t believe her. They told her she was crazy; but, when she wouldn’t let up, they finally came and saw for themselves that she was indeed quite sane.
Sometimes it takes a child to point out the obvious. And a child shall lead them. Who are the children in your life that keep you believing?
Jesus lived without children of his own, but when he wants to show what discipleship is like, he plops a child in front of his disciples. Why a child? Because children were of no account in Jesus’ day. They were worth less than women and only slightly more than animals. The gospel showed that, in Christ, the last shall be first and the weak shall be strong.
Jesus’ whole ministry was a sign system in how to be retrievers of the neglected, the maligned, the misfits and the little. ‘Children first’ was the Jesus motto because in the kingdom of God the last are first.
Without Rhodas and their animations, our souls can shrink, our minds can turn to mush or machines, our awareness atrophied by a consumer culture that defines reality in terms of trades and terminals. Rhodas keep the glint of adventure in our eyes, and when the Rhodas are released, doors previously closed for your whole life start to open up.
JOURNAL QUESTIONS:
Who are some other ‘Rhoda’s in the bible?
What are you doing to live Jesus’ philosophy ‘when you receive a child, you receive me’ in your life?
What ‘make believe’ games did you play as a child? Are there life skills you learned from playing them?
Are there any Rhoda’s in your life keeping you ‘young’?