Home > Advent Blog 2023

Receive the Kingdom of God!

December 6, 2023

1 John 4:7-14  |  Psalm 145:8-13  |  Mark 10:13-16

I’ve been thinking a lot about little children these days. Not just because it’s the holiday season, in which we see all kinds of ads with and for kids, which of course I find charming. But also because in my daily life I work with children of all ages. One thing that has surprised me over my years in education is the perception, a misperception in my mind, that our littlest ones are not capable of deep thought and collective action. Their openness to the world, their curiosity, their boundless energy in fact reveal the opposite! So when Jesus says, “for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs,” I believe he encourages us all to stay in that mindset. And we need to live with the joy, wonder, and capacity for growth that children embody. Jesus makes our charge abundantly clear when he says, “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” So this Advent, let your inner child have some fun, and know you are simply preparing to enter the kingdom of God.

Diane Rich