I Want A Human!

Mike Hosey, Elder

Bigness and smallness are not concepts lost on children.  They know their place in the world well. Unlike adults, they have not yet been poisoned by fantasies of self-grandeur.  And they are constantly reminded of their own relative powerlessness. In general, a child knows that he or she does not have the seeming omnipotence of his or her parents. 

This was illustrated to me in an exchange my wife and I had with our children a few years ago.

My in-laws were selling their home and needed our help on some repairs and clean up.  My wife suggested that we go help one evening, but then retracted the suggestion when she realized no one would be around to watch our kids if we became immersed in the involved task of making the property presentable.  I joked that we could just leave the kids at home. My daughter, Emily, who was four at the time, and my son, Caleb, then six, had overheard the conversation and joke.  Their response is telling:

CALEB: “You mean leave us home alone?” He asked with only a little concern, and a mildly devious grin.

ME: “Yeah,” I said.

EMILY: “But who is going to watch me?” She asked with a frightened voice.

ME: “Caleb will watch you,” I calmly told her.

EMILY: “Well, who is going to watch Caleb?” she asked, her voice growing with fear.

ME: “You are,” I answered.

EMILY: “Well I don’t want to watch Caleb! [short pause] “And I want a human to watch me!”

CALEB: “Hey! I am a human!” Caleb replied in offense.

EMILY: “Well I want a bigger human!” she retorted with a voice full of concern.

The moment was funny, and is a treasure to me. 

Emily realized that her brother, as smart and competent as she believed him to be ordinarily, knew that he was not a big enough object for her full trust in the absence of her parents.  She also realized that she could not take on the adult task of watching him.   

In modern society, adults place their faith in individuals, and governments, and money, and status and a host of worldly powers.  Are those powers big enough to really meet the needs that are put to them? Do adults, even Christian adults, in modern society view God as a big God? Is Jesus big in your life? Are you a child of God?