Christ said unless you are like a child, you shall not enter heaven; Paul told people the opposite.
Keywords: Children,Heaven,Way,Path,Oneness,Reality,Love,Christianity
Summary: Christ said unless you are like a child, you shall not enter heaven; Paul told people the opposite.
In many religions not Christianity at present, the key to understanding is to have a heart like a child. Now this doesn't mean to act immaturely, yet a child doesn't judge, it senses if someone is bad. A child looks in simplicity and innocence with out needing to include lust and rules in which to judge by. As we get older and become rigid in our thoughts; that's when we become adults, as such. Yet ask anybody and they will say they still feel like they did whilst younger. If this is the case why do they not, still play as they did and be free. So where does this problem stem from, I remember when I was young and I couldn't understand how come adults acted so strange and closed off as people. I remember saying to my brother; we have to hold on to this youth; that we contained as children, so we didn't end up like the adults. Now this is not to say, that because adults need to teach the children right and wrong and need to enforce discipline, this is the cause of what I am saying, as it is not, this is expectable and is needed as part of life. Yet what I am referring to is, that most adults have no salt in their words and spirit, they have lost that way of expressing them self that is life. It is like in church the adults and children are separated and the children go off to a different part. Now for me as a child I was happy to get away from the boring sermons, not to say that the church I attended was boring, yet to me it wasn't exactly fun. This as far as Yeshua and the way of heaven is, isn't the way it should be, the service should cater for all, as we are all children at heart. The main service should be fun and interactive for all and self explanatory as both adults and children enjoy the same things. Teaching the children separately and a modified version of the Bible, is not the same as teaching the true scriptures, Christ's words are easy to follow as his yoke is light. We underestimate our children and in doing so detriment them, many who attended Sunday school, are put of God and the Bible. The stories do not hold weight unless the morals are told; and in many cases with out the wording used, this is lost. Now you see the problem and the result, let's see where it stems from, Yeshua tells us.
Quote:
Mat 21:15-16 and when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things which he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David, they were angry. (16) And they said to him, do you hear what these say? And Yeshua said to them, yes, have you never read, "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings you have perfected praise?"
So if children can show praise and perfected, then are we as people, not supposed to embrace this and include it in our services. If you check up the word hosanna it means to bow and praise the most high. As many people believe this is saying to worship Yeshua, yet it means to thank or pray to the most high for sending the son of David.
Another reason with Christ that isn't recorded is that he would play with the children, children loved him. As instead of acting above them he treated them on the same level, so they could hear what he had to say. What is recorded though is this and this tells us that we are supposed to be like children.
Quote:
Mat 18:3-6 and said, truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven. (4) Therefore whoever shall humble himself like this little child, this one is the greater in the kingdom of Heaven. (5) And whoever shall receive one such little child in my name receives me. (6) But whoever shall offend one of these little ones who believes in me, it would be better for him that an ass's millstone were hung around his neck, and he be sunk in the depth of the sea.
To explain this better heaven is like, a play ground, it is fun and there is music always playing, it is like being in a big party. Who wants some grumpy person, spoiling everybody's fun, by telling people off for worshiping God and having fun in the process?
Does that make sense, as from when I saw heaven that is what it is! Everyone is light hearted, a heavy heart is not like a child, judging and trying to add rules to people's games is not like a child. In fact if you watch a children's playground and where you have a child that has strict parents, it learns the same. You will have a group of kids playing a game, which doesn't have many rules and so is fun. Then the child comes across and starts telling everyone "right this is how we are going to play it???" You watch the other children's faces, sometimes they may try it, and sometimes the child loses friends and is told not to join in anymore.
Quote:
1Co 14:20 Brothers, do not be children in your minds, but in malice be like infants, and in your minds be mature.
This is a blatant contradiction people may say, Paul is speaking on a different matter, that Paul is referring not to be immature. Christ was saying to be humble, yet Christ also said concerning the stern Pharisee, which Paul was part of from an early age.
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Mat 11:16-17 but to what shall I compare to this generation? It is like little children sitting in the markets and calling to their playmates, (17) saying, we played the flute to you, and you did not dance! We mourned to you, but you did not wail!
This means that their hearts had grown cold and hard, not light as a child that hears music and wants to dance.
The next point that I find astonishing, that Paul said is in malice to be like a child? As the malice of a child is far worse then someone who has grown up, as a child hasn't learnt to forgive and forget, instead most children sulk and stamp their feet in malice. So yet again another thing that is Anti-Christ, as how can you forgive others, if you are going to be sulking. I don't know if you know Paul's background, yet he was brought up as a Pharisee in other words a very strict environment. So even though he may have tried to change his ways; from the days of being a young man having Stephen stoned to death in front of him. His mentality still was very stern and not as Christ taught, you can see this in all Paul has written. He is that child in the play ground who comes across and spoils everyone's game, as he adds rules to a game that already worked and in doing so spoiling the game.
Quote:
1Co 13:11 When I was an infant, I spoke as an infant, I thought as an infant, I reasoned as an infant. But when I became a man, I did away with the things of an infant.
Now considering I asked my granddad of 82, "how old do you feel inside?" and he says 16. How do we ever get away from how we felt as children? We don't the more we struggle to become this idea of an adult, the further we go from getting into heaven and the more we hurt and confuse our self's. As really we are all God's children, we never change from being this.
Quote:
Mat 19:13-14 then little children were brought to him, that He should put His hands on them and pray. And the disciples rebuked them. (14) But Yeshua said, allow the little children to come to me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of Heaven.
Let me explain this a little more, a child looks in simplicity, it doesn't use strict judgment, there is an innocence to the way it looks at the world. A child smiles and is smiling a lot of the time. Until it has to fight from people knocking it and restricting it from doing things that are not needed to be restricted. All of these things are possible to us all the way through our lives. We don't need to change and become old one day; it is false as on the inside we all stay the same.
To sum this up what Paul has written is close hearted and cold, it is heavy and hard to digest. So for most children they don't understand a word he is talking about, this is not like heaven and people who adjusted their thinking to understand Paul hurt their spirits.
Christ is open hearted and warm, his yoke is light most children will understand him and love him. Christ showed the way of heaven following what he said will guide you to heaven, as long as you don't get muddled up with Pharisee doctrine written by Paul and John.