A lady asked this question recently; "I want to know, when kids, about 4 and 3yrs of age, always hug and say I love u Mum, or you are the best, Mum. Is it really from their hearts or something learnt from somewhere, maybe, cartoons?"
I really didn't see this as a viable question. It came across as over analyzing a very common occurrence until yesterday. My friend, who has 3 children, told me that one of them is very warm and expressive. He will tell her she is the best Mum ever, he loves her and hugs her at every given opportunity. This lady is quite the opposite, so she says he reminds her of how she should be.
This got me thinking, she had struck a chord. Hampered by bills, activities and various responsibilities we lose our childishness or child likeness. Matthew 6:27 says "Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" These "expressions" are not perceived intuitively enough to be properly grasped. He/she who has not grasped in its entirety, will never be able to use it properly either. Jesus told us we must possess childlikeness; for we are and must remain children of God, even when we have gained full maturity. We must be childlike if we wish to fulfill the purpose for which God created us.
How strange it is that anyone who wishes to experience the bliss of Christmas in the true sense, will often try to recall his or her childhood! This can surely be regarded as a clear enough sign of the fact that as an adult he or she is slightly incapable of experiencing the pure bliss of Christmas and many other things. It is definite proof that we have lost something we had as children! The greatest things could be recognized in all these apparently trivial facts.
Consider this, even though many a person sheds a few tears, he feels ashamed and tries to hide them, pulling himself together. Childlikeness is the result of inner purity, or the sign that such an individual has submitted to Purity and this is the will of the Father; that we cultivate childlikeness and not worry but trust Him, Love Him and in all sincerity pour out our hearts to him even if it means we shed a tear or two. Wherever there is true purity, genuine love can also be found.
Kids definitely recognize expressions of affection. That's why a 6 month old will smile back at you. Even if we chalk it down to it's movies or cartoons, kids certainly don't see anyone say those words while landing a slap on whom its directed to. Their minds, though young, can process those expressions. As a child I could see all my mum's effort and sacrifices everyday besides, who, except Mum showed me that kind of love, care and attention? When I told her she was the best Mum in the whole, wide, world, I meant it!
Matthew 18:3 "Then he said, "I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven."
Matthew 6:25: That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life--whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing?
Ijeoma Olujekun
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