Charlie's Journey's Journal

And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them.   But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them,  “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.   Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”   And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them. ” (Mark 10:13-16) Have you ever wondered the value of this exchange found in the New Testament?  Just about any other Bible reference to  spiritual development demands a need for maturity, so why the emphasis on childlikeness?  I am not sure that I have the all the answers for why Jesus encouraged His disciples to take on the attitudes of children, but I think that I have come to appreciate one of them – simplicity.  It is easy for me to get “wrapped around the axle...

On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King addressed a crowd gathered around the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C.  The event would be called “The March On Washington”, but it was punctuated by one of Dr. King’s most notable addresses that would become known as the “I Have A Dream Speech”.  Dr. King discussed a “dream” he had for this nation, a belief he would describe as being deeply rooted in the American dream.  He imagined a time when people would be judged by character, not color … a time when equality could be enjoyed by all citizens … a time when injustice and oppression would be transformed into freedom and justice … a time when diversity could be embraced in the name of brotherhood.  In essence, King dreamed of a time of unity, equity and equality.  I believe that in the last half century we have made progress as a nation, but I know the dream has been fully achieved.  In fact, I am not sure that it will ever be completely attained because it must ...

I believe that each of Jesus’ parables was taught with one basic lesson in mind; however, they are so rich and full of insight that sometimes parallel principles can be gathered.  Take for example, the Parable Of The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).  Initially the story answered the verbal question, “Who is my neighbor?” and followed up on how we should demonstrate our love to them.  While the focus of the parable is on the Samaritan who loved his neighbor, there might be a secondary lesson found in the priest and the rabbi.  Neither of them did anything to further harm the injured man they encountered along their path … in fact, they didn’t do anything at all.  Interestingly their lack of action provided a backdrop for godliness – someone doing good.  We have a hero in our story (the Samaritan), we have some bad guys (the robbers) and then we have these two men.  They were not as vile as the offenders, but they didn’t live up to the level of Christ-ap...