Pathfinders
Matthew 18:1-3
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
He called a little child to him and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Children live in the now. Yesterday is a dissipating, vague memory; tomorrow is not something that begs much thought.
In the Shubra Church of God, our church family in Cairo, there is a 4-year old little girl who has significant physical limitations, but when she worships the Lord, she transitions into a world all her own. During the lively music service, she dances up the center aisle, skipping and twirling, stopping occasionally to acknowledge another fellow worshiper with a smile and a hug. As she moves up the aisle to the front, she hangs a left at the main platform, down the side aisle to the back of the church, then repeats. She has left all her worldly cares behind. Now it’s just her and Jesus. If I’m going to enter the kingdom of heaven, I’m going to have to find my dancing shoes.
In our neighborhood in the southern district of Cairo, there are children who go from house to house collecting mountains of garbage from designated containers into a big, woven polypropylene bag (which is usually larger than themselves), slinging it over their shoulder and hoisting it up onto the deck of a donkey drawn wagon. During the day, when the children are busy with the task at hand, I often meet their eyes and they smile warmly. But in the evening, the golden hour just before sunset, is when I love to observe them. The workday has ended, the wagons have been unloaded to big trucks, and it’s time for evening joy riding. The street echoes with the clopping of the donkeys and laughter of these children.
Cairo’s “garbage cities” are the destinations of the trucks piled high with the city’s garbage. The families of the garbage gatherers, who are Christians, live in these cities and their work is hand-sorting the day’s garbage. They live hard lives.
Egypt is a country brimming with children, some whose bellies are filled from day to day, while others’ daily bread is not nearly enough. Yet, all intrinsically find cause to laugh and play throughout their day. Most of us from the West cannot begin to imagine this super-power to express joy in the midst of hardship.
We live in Cairo’s southern district of Maadi. Our home is only several hundred yards from the mighty Nile River. Egyptian tradition tells us that two thousand years ago the Holy Family, in their journey south along the Nile, stopped nearby for some time of rest. I’ve caught myself, on occasion, imagining young Jesus laughing and playing with the other children here; living in the moment. Perhaps it was his childhood in Egypt or other childhood experiences He is remembering when He says, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” This observation of the unencumbered freedom of children is something He doesn’t want us to miss.
Ministry has its fair share of days filled with struggle. We walk alongside those carrying heavy burdens, and we carry heavy burdens ourselves. In all of this, may we be reminded to enter into our own unencumbered expression, like the dance of the worship princess from Shubra or the joy of the donkey crew, simple acts of letting go that lead us to His kingdom here on earth, as it is in heaven.